HARRISBURG, Pa. — U.S. Steel reversed course and said Friday that it will continue processing raw steel at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois, nixing a decision that had put the plant on track to stop work in the coming weeks.
U.S. Steel did not explain its reasons for changing course, now barely three months after Nippon Steel sealed a deal with President Donald Trump to buy the iconic American steelmaker by giving the government a say over decisions that affect domestic steel production.
In a brief statement, a U.S. Steel spokesperson said it will continue to supply raw steel slabs to Granite City “indefinitely.”
Initially, it had said ending processing operations at Granite City would allow U.S. Steel to “maintain future flexibility.” On Friday, it said “our goal was to maintain flexibility, and we are pleased to have found a solution to continue slab consumption at Granite City.”
It did not say what that solution was.
The United Steelworkers union — which had opposed the buyout by Nippon Steel — accused U.S. Steel of trying to “wiggle out” of commitments that Nippon Steel made in its deal with the White House.
“But we wouldn’t let it,” the union said in a statement. “We pushed back on USS’s flimsy excuse that it couldn’t supply slabs to Granite City for us to process. We reached out to poli