U.S. Steel will lay off almost 10 per cent of its Hamilton employees by the end of this week and will not resume basic steelmaking here during the second quarter.

The decision not to restart the Hamilton blast furnace, without which the former Stelco plant can only process steel made elsewhere, was revealed as part of the company’s first quarter report that included a hefty $219-million net loss.

In a conference call with industry analysts, U.S. Steel chairman John Surma said the company’s American plants are operating at 90 per cent of their capacity and demand for steel isn’t strong enough to support any more production.

• [Editor:editor]