Wheatland Tube plans to lay off 30 workers

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
SHARON, Pa. -- A slowdown in the pipe and tube market will result in layoffs for 30 employees at Wheatland Tube's Sharon plant effective Monday.
Bill Kerins, vice president of operations, said the entire company, which has about 1,400 employees at various locations, has been on a slowdown for months. Cheaper imports now have nearly 75 percent of the domestic market and the heavy, nonresidential construction industry, which drives Wheatland's business, is still slower than it was several years ago, he added.
There are no plans for further layoffs at this point and Kerins said the company is reassessing its situation weekly.
The cutback at the Sharon plant, which has about 400 workers, includes reducing shifts on the production furnace from three, eight-hour shifts four days per week to two, 12-hour shifts three days a week. The Wheatland plant has been cut back to four days a week for months, Kerins said.