Cliffs to Idle Facilities at Dearborn Plant, Lay Off 600 Workers

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said it will temporarily idle facilities at its Dearborn, Michigan, steel plant and issue layoff notices to 600 employees amid weak US automotive demand.

The Cleveland-based company said it will idle the blast furnace, BOF steel shop and continuous casting facilities, and begin laying off employees in July.

By then, the Cleveland Works C6 blast furnace that was idled last year should be back in full operation, spokesperson Patricia Persico wrote in an email. Once President Donald Trump’s trade policies are fully implemented, Cliffs expects to restart the facilities now targeted for shutdown, she added.

“The current ...