Dec. 5--CALVERT CITY, Ky. -- A reeling steel industry will cost 26 hourly workers their jobs in January at Gerdau Ameristeel Corp.

"It's due mainly to the market downturn," said Brian Graves, unit president of United Steelworkers Local 9447-05. "Their sales have dropped in pretty much all lines of their business."

The layoffs, effective Jan. 5, largely involve the newest workers. The cuts are reportedly among about 500 layoffs across seven of Gerdau's 10 union mills in North America, he said.

Graves said all the laid-off Calvert City workers -- except five still on probation -- will retain their insurance for six months if they pay their share of the cost. They have 24-month callback rights.

The last major layoff, in November 2009, involved 29 workers as the highly cyclical steel industry took a downturn, Graves said. He said the current layoffs largely comprise a fourth crew added in 2007 when the industry was surging.

The Calvert City plant employs 210, including 156 union workers.

Gerdau spokesman Ramiro Prodencio in Miami would not confirm the number of layoffs or say when they would start.

He did say the Calvert City cuts are among layoffs at some of the company's 19 mills in North America to slash costs.

"Nearly every major steel company has announced some sort of major scaleback in personnel or investments or forestalling new facilities," he said.

Tampa, Fla.-based Gerdau reported $742 million in earnings during the first nine months of 2008, up 87 percent over $397 million during the same period last year. But Prodencio said the steel market started a substantial slide this fall, prompting demand uncertainty for 2009.

"The industry tends to operate with minimal lag time between production and getting products into customers' hands," he said. "When they see market scaleback, they're pretty fast to adapt to it."

Joe Walker can be contacted at 575-8656.

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