Liberty Steel layoff announcement is the latest in a series of ups and downs for the company
Scott Harper/GAB News•
In June of 2018, Georgetown’s steel mill – after being closed for years – reopened under the ownership of Liberty Steel.
The new owners said the production of wire rod – the company’s main product since opening in the late 1960s – would continue.
Today it was announced the production of wire rod will end June 19 – at least temporarily – and the plant will produce wire mesh and welded steel products.
This will result in the layoff of 50 of the mill’s 79 workers, according to a Liberty Steel press release.
Company leaders say the move is necessary because “current market forces, along with a surge in imported steel, have led to a decrease in rod prices, causing the mill to incur higher production costs than the selling price of the rod.”
Liberty Chief Operating Officer Pieter Vanderwesthuizen says the company remains “committed to the long-term viability of our Georgetown facility and continue to invest in the business. Unfortunately, market forces are working against us in the rod market with the increase in imports and significant pressure on transportation costs. We fully intend to bring the rod mill back up as soon as it makes financial sense to do so.”
He continues: “We regret that more than 50 employees will be affected by this shift in focus. They will be provided opportunities at other LIBERTY locations or a severance package with help finding their new roles if they choose to stay in South Carolina.”
The press release also points Liberty “is not idling the facility.” This is important because if the plant does shut down, a 365-day clock will start and if it does not begin operating within that timeframe, the zoning of the property will change and heavy manufacturing will no longer be a permitted use for the property.
Today’s announcement is just the latest in what has been a series of ups and downs since Liberty bought the mill.
In 2019 it was announced the company planned to invest up to $25 million to install a modern electric arc furnace at the Georgetown mill and extensively improve the infrastructure of the mill’s melt shop.
That never happened.
In April 2020, the plant closed because of the COVID 19 pandemic putting 130 workers out of a job.
The mill resumed operations before a February 2022 deadline which would have put the new zoning in place.
In April 2023, when things were looking better economically, it was announced a second shift of workers will be hired because Liberty Steel Georgetown will begin manufacturing other products besides the wire rod.
That was expected to bring the workforce back to near 100.
We contacted James Sanderson, President of the United Steelworkers Loal 7898, but he said he had no comment at this time.