We often get quarterly financial reports from companies with some ties to our area, even if they don’t necessarily have a physical presence in the Ohio Valley, so I was expecting to see a release from Cleveland-Cliffs appear in my inbox sometime this week.

What I wasn’t expecting in the email, which was sent out just after 5 p.m., Wednesday (just in time for a significant percentage of people to have left work for the day) was the one sentence blurb located at the bottom of a list of operational changes being made by the company: “In addition, the Company will no longer be deploying capital toward the development of a transformer production plant in Weirton, West Virginia, due to changes in scope from the project partner that no longer meet Cliffs’ investment requirements.”

The company release began with the announcement Cleveland-Cliffs had lost more than $450 million for the first quarter of the year. Even for a multi-billion-dollar company, that’s a huge chunk for a quarterly loss, so it’s understandable some adjustments would have to be made.

But, to then find out it would mean the most-likely end of a project promised to our community not even a year ago was a punch in the gut.

I still vividly remember the day the transformer project was announced. It was raining for much of the day, and I already had a packed schedule, but these aren’t the kind of assignments you miss. Driving through the Half Moon Industrial Park, I had to keep an eye on where other cars were going, and ask a few people standing around where I could park.

We were led into one of the company’s buildings, with a section curtained off, chairs set up with a stage before us. It was hot in the building, and we had to wait more than a little beyond the scheduled starting time because we were still waiting from Jim Justice (then governor, now U.S. senator) to arrive, with his detail of West Virginia State Police troopers and Babydog right along with him.

Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO, Lourenco Goncalves sold it all wonderfully, only a few months after idling the community’s tin mill, he promised a new future and the opportunity for jobs for everyone the company had recently put in the unemployment line. He was blunt in his assertion that there would be no more tin (or steel, or other metal) manufactured in Weirton, but transformers would bring a new light to the community.

Now, it seems to be over, and we’re left asking “What now?”

I’m not about to pretend to be knowledgable of the ins and outs of why this project was put on the chopping block.

I can only imagine what the rest of the community is feeling after this week’s announcement. Disappointment is more than likely an understatement.

It is definitely not like the old days, where you might run into company executives at Kroger, where this large employer comes in and saves the day for the local United Way campaign ensuring they meet their goal, where they offer manpower and equipment to help with a big community project.

There are still going to be opportunities coming to this community. I believe that. I have to believe that, otherwise it means we’re giving up, and I don’t ever want to see the people of Weirton give up.

The major chapter of Weirton’s history is officially over. It’s time to write the next one.

(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @CHowellWDT)