U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., right, speaks with Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves during a visit to the Weirton tinplate facility in September 2023. Cleveland-Cliffs announced Thursday it would be idling indefinitely the Weirton facility following a recent tariff ruling by the International Trade Commission. -- Craig Howell

WEIRTON — After 115 years, the final manufacturing component of what once was Weirton Steel Corp. will be idled.

Cleveland-Cliffs, the current owner of the tinplate operation remaining in Weirton, announced Thursday morning its plans to idle “indefinitely” the tinplate production plant in April. Company officials have pointed to the recent decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission, denying the company’s petition for trade duties on imported tin products as a reason for the closure.

“We worked very closely with our partners at the USW on this solution to save Weirton, and together fought tirelessly for its survival. In what was our final effort to maintain tinplate production here in America, we proved that we are forced to operate on an uneven playing field, and that the deck was stacked in favor of the importers,” Lourenco Goncalves, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a release Thursday morning. “Despite the Department of Commerce finding evidence of dumping and subsidization from respondent countries, the ITC shockingly ruled against imposition of tariffs, keeping the uneven playing field in place and making it impossible for us to viably produce tinplate. We have been upfront and open with union leadership throughout this process and our partnership with the USW remains unbreakable.”

A notice to affected employees, under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, was issued by the company Thursday. Cleveland-Cliffs Weirton has employed approximately 900 workers in recent years, though approximately 300 of those had been laid off last summer. Those affected will be offered relocation opportunities, or severance packages, noted company officials.

In January 2023, Cleveland Cliffs and the United Steelworkers Union jointly filed an anti-dumping and countervailing duty trade case alleging a surge of imported tin product had materially injured the company and its employees. In a ruling, Jan. 5, the U.S. Department of Commerce determined imported products from four of the original eight petitioned countries were being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. That decision was overruled, though, by a 4-0 vote by the ITC earlier this month, saying the domestic tin industry was “not materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports” from Canada, China and Germany. An investigation concerning imports from South Korea was terminated by the ITC.

TIN ROLLS — Rolls of tin product, pictured in September 2023, are lined up within a section of the Cleveland-Cliffs Weirton tinplate facility. The company announced Thursday it would be idling indefinitely the Weirton facility following a tariff ruling this month by the International Trade Commission. -- Craig Howell

“American workers can compete with anyone on a level playing field, but the ITC’s recent negative determination continues to leave our markets vulnerable to foreign dumping. The current tin mill market has already been decimated by over 50% penetration of illegally dumped foreign tinplate product,” said USW International President Dave McCall. “Now, with the idling of tinplate production in Weirton, unfair trade is one step closer to choking out our domestic industry entirely. It should be obvious, the goal of foreign suppliers is that once our domestic supply chain has been destroyed, the American consumers of tin mill products will be at the mercy of the foreign producers and their cheap and dumped products will no longer be available at ‘cheap’ prices.”

Weirton Mayor Harold “Bubba” Miller said the “was taken by surprise” by the announcement, noting he began receiving phone calls Wednesday night.

“This is a real setback,” Miller said. “There are going to be a lot of families on the short end of the stick.”

The mayor pointed to growth in the local economy in recent years, such as the opening of Pietro Fiorentini, Bidell Gas Compression, and Fanti USA, as well as ongoing construction of Form Energy’s new facility, along with new restaurants and retail businesses, saying the Cleveland-Cliffs closure may have a cooling effect on the area.

“I think the impact on the community is yet to be seen,” he said.

State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, emphasized the importance for support for those affected workers in the coming months.

“A lot of people woke up in the Northern Panhandle this morning to find out they were going to be out of a job,” said Weld. “I think it is incumbent on us as legislators and state government to ensure those families who are going to be impacted by this and impacted by a bureaucratic decision in Washington, D.C., have the resources they deserve and have access to when they find themselves without a job. But words mean very little at this point in time. What will matter are actions, and actions we take to redouble our efforts on economic development around the state and the Northern Panhandle to ensure those people don’t just get unemployment benefits, but that they actually have an opportunity for job; increase our efforts for projects like we’ve seen all across our state to come and increase that to ensure those impacted by decisions like today’s put of Washington D.C. can have a job and have hope and have a way to the future for their families.”

Representatives of the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle pledged to offer their assistance in job relocation efforts to the affected employees.

“Along with United Steelworkers and Cleveland-Cliffs, we are deeply disappointed in the International Trade Commission’s recent ruling. The domestic steel industry plays a vital role in the economic welfare of Brooke and Hancock Counties and the impact the ruling has on local employment cannot be understated,” said a statement issued by the economic development agency. “The mission of the BDC is to create employment opportunities in the two-county area. Through many partnerships, the BDC has been successful in doing so as evidenced by the investment of companies such as Gruppo Fanti, Heavy Iron Oilfield Services and Form Energy.”

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called the announcement a consequence of the ITC turning “a blind eye to nearly 1,000 hard-working employees,” in West Virginia.

“Cleveland-Cliffs’ closure is an absolute injustice not only to American workers, but to the very principle of fair competition, and it will undoubtedly weaken our economic and national security,” said Manchin, who noted he spoke with both Goncalves and USW Local 2911 President Mark Glyptis to express his solidarity. “I strongly urge the administration to take this opportunity to do the right thing and recommit to revitalizing our domestic manufacturing, strengthening our supply chains, and keeping good-paying jobs right here in the Mountain State. My commitment to the cause has only grown, and I stand ready to work with Goncalves, the United Steelworkers and all of our partners in this effort to safeguard our domestic steel industry.”

Local members of the West Virginia House of Delegates also expressed their concerns for the affected workers.

“(Thursday) morning’s news that Cleveland Cliffs Weirton plant will be indefinitely idled is nothing short of devastating. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families impacted by this decision. We will continue to work diligently to find any resolution to this matter and fight every day for our constituents,” said a statement issued on behalf of state Del. Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, and state Del. Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke. “We would be remiss if we didn’t state the obvious fact that the International Trade Commission has turned its back on 900 hard-working West Virginians. The ITC, for some reason, is putting the interests of foreign countries illegally dumping low-quality tin into our country ahead of the interests of hardworking West Virginians. It is our hope that every West Virginian will join us in calling out the ITC for this idiotic decision, and call upon the ITC to reverse its decision and put West Virginians before foreign companies. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure the jobs at Cleveland Cliffs do not become another export to a foreign country.”

Words of support for local workers also were offered by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va. Brown accompanied Manchin to Weirton to meet with company and union officials in September, while Mooney visited the city in August. Capito was among those who testified before the Commerce Department on behalf of the company and union’s tariff claims.