ArcelorMittal closes Lachine wire mill

ArcelorMittal Long Carbon North America - Wire Group announced the closure of production activities at its Lachine facility to employees at the Lachine and Saint-Patrick plants in Montreal. The Lachine wire mill accounts for 153 positions and will close on June 30. Different measures will be put into place to eliminate the need to lay off employees impacted by this decision. There will be a net loss of 100 positions within ArcelorMittal in the Montreal area.

Alain Robitaille, general manager, Wire Group said “We cannot continue operating two wire mills in a context where it is more advisable to operate only one plant and thereby bring our costs down to more competitive levels to ensure long term profitability.” Mr. Robitaille added that U.S. markets for automotive construction and steel wire consumption have been on the decline in the past five or six years, while the value of the Canadian dollar continued to rise against the United States dollar.

ArcelorMittal will work with the United Steelworkers (USW) union to facilitate the phasing out process through regulatory and labor contract mechanisms. The Saint-Patrick wire mill workforce will increase from 105 to 158 employees. As well, employees impacted by the closure will be offered positions in other ArcelorMittal locations in the Montreal area. In addition, ArcelorMittal will offer incentives to those eligible for retirement. All these measures should eliminate the need to lay off employees impacted by this decision.