Mr Mark Glyptis president of United Steelworkers Local 2911 said that the future is bright for ArcelorMittal Weirton. He added that about 100 of those employees, 921 of whom are union members with 120 in management, are now voluntarily laid off, with another 11 involuntarily separated from employment in an effort to save global steel giant ArcelorMittal money during the economic downturn.

And numbers released this week by ArcelorMittal chairman & CEO Mr LN Mittal show that it lost USD 1.1 billion during the first three months of 2009 after finishing the first quarter of 2008 with a USD 2.37 billion profit.

But Mr Glyptis believes ArcelorMittal as a whole and especially the plant known as Weirton Steel Corporation until 2005 is in a prime position to thrive in the coming years. He added that "Mr Mittal is a tremendous businessman. I have full confidence in his ability to guide us through these difficult economic times."

As for the Weirton plant itself, Mr Glyptis said that tin yields are higher now that at any time I can remember, though he said company regulations forbid him from releasing specific production figures. He added that "We are very fortunate to have the tin production we have because the tin business is very viable in a down economy. There is a tremendous opportunity in Weirton. Our long-term goal is to be the best tin producer in North America."

Mr Glyptis said that "The art of steelmaking today is much more complicated and technical than in previous generations. It takes a great deal of training for people to do this work today because they need to have technical skills and knowledge of computers."

(Sourced from www.news-register.net)