Roughly 600 new jobs are headed for Hancock County after steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs announced Monday it would repurpose a former steel manufacturer into a manufacturing plant for distribution transformers.
The Cleveland-based company closed its steel facility in April, causing the layoff of about 900 employees and prompting swift criticism from the local community and elected officials.
Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said Monday that supply chain issues causing an “acute shortage” of distribution transformers domestically spurred the decision to redevelop the facility.
Distribution transformers support power grids by managing the flow of electricity. Goncalves said that the shortage is already “hampering economic development and threatening energy security.”
Redeveloping the steel facility will cost a total of $150 million, but $50 million will be granted by the state in a forgivable loan to the company.
https://wvpublic.org/cleveland-cliffs-to-turn-steel-facility-into-manufacturing-plant-creating-600-jobs/