Work hours are extended at the coated products division. (source: Courtesy of USSK)
After months of reduced production, the steel company U.S. Steel Košice (USSK) has prolonged the work hours of one hundred of its employees as of October in response to increasing demand for some of its products. Even though this may seem like a turn for the better, the steel maker suffering from cheap imports of steel and products remains cautious.
“Conditions on the market have been changing sharply and it is too early to speak about what will happen in November,” Ján Bača, spokesperson of USSK, told the public broadcaster RTVS.
Idled blast furnace
USSK idled one of its three blast furnaces as of June 20, 2019, and subsequently also reduced the work week by one day. USSK reduced the work time for five months in 2019 and for first nine months of 2020. It was primary the bad situation on the European steel market behind lower demand for its products while the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation even more.
