The Pueblo Chieftain reported that between 40 and 55 workers at Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Mill will be laid off because of a slowdown in demand for steel pipe.

Mr Rob Simon the mill's manager said that the workers have been notified and the first of several stages of lay offs will begin at the end of next week.

He said that “The mill is laying off one of three shifts that work in the seamless tube mill. 40 workers will be let go and another 10 to 15 will be laid off, making a total of 50 to 55 workers affected. The remaining two shifts will work four-day weeks.”

Mr Simon said the declining number of drilling rigs for oil and gas has caused a drop in purchases of seamless steel pipe. It's not known when or if the workers will be brought back because of uncertainty about the economy.

Mr Simon said orders for rod and bar products currently are enough to keep those workers on the job. He said that "We hope not to have to," furlough the workers again. The demand is keeping up at those level, but it changes all the time. He added that even with the recent bad news, "We consider ourselves very fortunate."

He said that in November, Evraz was forced to furlough as many as 85 workers at the rod and bar mill. The workers were off 10 days in November, a week in December and a week in January.

(Sourced from The Pueblo Chieftain)