Steel Mills
US Steel CEO Says Steel Jobs May Come Back
Written by Sandy Williams
December 8, 2016
US Steel CEO Mario Longhi told CNBC the company may be able to bring back jobs if regulations and tax laws are improved under the new administration.
I’d be more than happy to bring back the employees we’ve been forced to lay off during that depressive period,” he said, which “could be close to 10,000 jobs.”
CNBC’s Power Lunch panel asked him to clarify for former employees that were listening that he was in fact talking about U.S. steel employees. Longhi said he was, but later in a statement to CNBC, U.S. Steel said that Longhi was “referring to the American steel industry overall, not just to employees of United States Steel Corporation.”
When asked about trade law and protectionism Longhi responded:
“People use the word protectionism in an inappropriate manner. All that we have been looking for is fairness and that everyone operates under the same rule of law. Under that environment we can compete with anybody.”
The President-elect has said he will prevent jobs from going overseas. When asked how that might affect the steel industry and US Steel Longhi said there will be an acceleration of investments made in the U.S.
“We are already structured to do some things, but when you see in the near future improvement to the tax laws, improvements to regulation, those two things by themselves may be a significant driver to what we’re going to do,” he said.
It is suggested that the U.S. economy can grow at least 3.5 percent and “in that environment,” said Longhi, “we are going to grow significantly. “
When asked if growth will involve humans or robots and if automation kills jobs, Longhi said, “I don’t think it does, if you can grow. You can improve by putting some automation in place but if you grow, you certainly move jobs around in different forms.”
Longhi said regulation has an important role to play but that it “has to be done smartly.”
“When you get into some situations where we’re being asked to control some substances in water that are far lower than what nature naturally offers, that’s irrational,” he said. “So I think there are some things that really don’t need to be there. There was a point in time in the past couple years that I was having to hire more lawyers to try to interpret these new regulations than I was hiring … engineers. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Longhi noted that there is a new widespread optimism in the U.S. markets.
“I have not felt an environment of positive optimism, where forces are converging to provide for better environment in quite a while,” said Longhi.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
American mills urge Trump to maintain no exceptions on steel tariffs
"We urge you to resist any requests for exceptions or exclusions and to continue standing strong on behalf of American steel," the companies wrote.
Cliffs CEO touts employee cash bonus for buying US-made vehicles
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has introduced a new employee incentive program to promote American-made vehicles, support domestic production, and strengthen US supply chains.
Auction of AHMSA assets is next step in bankruptcy proceedings
An inventory valuation of the assets of Altos Hornos de Mexico SA (AHMSA) has been completed. Local reports suggest an auction for the assets of the bankrupt steel company could come as soon as the end of this month.
US mills increase shipments in January
AISI reported a 4.1% rise in US steel mill shipments from December to January.
Reports: Algoma Steel halts US shipments, plans layoffs in wake of tariff war
Facing an uncertain tariff trade war, Algoma Steel took action this week, halting steel shipments to the US, laying off employees, and prepping for an unknown future, according to local media reports.