Updated on May 13 at 11:04 a.m.
SALEM, Ohio — Weirton, West Virginia’s steel industry was dealt another blow after Cleveland Mark Cliffs announced on May 2 it would indefinitely delay plans to build an electrical transformer production plant in the community.
The company announced plans for a transformer plant in July 2024. The project is a collaborative effort between Cleveland Cliffs and the United Steelworkers Local 2911 to bring back steel jobs to Weirton after its last steel mill was idled in February 2024.
Workers initially thought Cleveland-Cliffs’ recent announcement would be related to bringing back jobs for former employees. Instead, employees are left in limbo.
“It’s very disheartening news. The workers and I thought we’d be calling people back to work to help build this plant,” said Mark Glyptis, president of United Steel Workers Local 2911. “It’s devastating news, and it affected (the workers) very hard.”
Why?
According to Glyptis, Cleveland Cliffs delayed the project due to significant financial losses in the company. In Cleveland Cliffs’ first-quarter 2025 results, released on May 7, it reported a net loss of almost $500 million. The company decided to idle six of its facilities, including two in Pennsylvania, to save over $300 million annually.
President and CEO of Cleveland Cliffs Lourenco Goncalves said the closure of the six facilities will help the company focus on supplying steel to the automotive industry. The report also announced that no more capital would be going to the Weirton project, “due to changes in scope from the project partner that no longer meet Cliffs’ investment requirements.”
Glyptis says the uncertainty in the marketplace, due to the Trump administration’s tariffs, is also a factor in the pause, but adds he is a firm supporter of the tariffs.
“Overall, I believe the tariffs are going to do what they’re intended to do,” Glyptis said. “It’s intended to make America a stronger country, to have companies that are building overseas to build in the United States, providing many good jobs to a lot of people.”
Tariffs have helped the U.S. steel industry in the past when Trump imposed a 25% tariff on foreign-made steel and a 10% tariff on foreign aluminium in 2018. The tariffs, however, had a significant impact on the manufacturing industry; one study from the Federal Reserve estimated that higher input costs from the tariffs reduced manufacturing jobs and raised production costs for metal-based goods.
West Virginia State Sen. Ryan Weld said he was disappointed but not surprised at the news.
“Cleveland-Cliffs leaves a legacy in the Ohio Valley of unemployed workers, closed factories and vacant land. This is just another instance of that,” Weld said in a statement.
Others like Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.V., said in a Facebook post that he was “extremely saddened to hear the Cleveland-Cliffs news out of Weirton today,” but “will continue working to bring jobs and prosperity to West Virginia — and deeply hope Cleveland-Cliffs can find a way to reverse course.”
Glyptis, however, is taking an optimistic approach. According to him, Weirton is still an ideal location for the transformer plant because of its proximity to the river; its dedicated workforce, which has been producing steel for over 115 years, and its former steel-plant infrastructure that only needs modified to accommodate the new industry.
Weirton’s last steel mill, Cleveland Cliffs’ tinplate production facility, was idled after the International Trade Commission rejected a petition by the company and the United Steelworkers to impose tariffs on foreign steel imports in February 2024.
Its closure impacted 900 employees who were either laid off or relocated to other Cleveland Cliffs facilities. The transformer plant was supposed to bring back 600 jobs, many of which would have gone to former employees.
But with transformers in high demand and tariffs starting up again, Glyptis believes the plant will still come to fruition in the long run.
“It’s going to take time because of the uncertainty; people have to feel comfortable before they invest hundreds of millions of dollars. But I think that’s going to happen, and when that happens, this industry will take off and the transformer plant will be part of the growth,” Glyptis said. “The people are going to win. This is about the people, really, it’s about the workers and the community, and I’m very optimistic.”
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 800-837-3419.)
