By T. Weber, KWMU
Pittsburgh, PA – The largest steel company in the nation, US Steel, announced plans today to buy National Steel. The $950-million deal means National's plant in Granite City, Illinois will stay open.
The Granite City mill is a major part of the local economy with almost 3,000 employees. But the company filed for bankruptcy last March.
US Steel spokesman Mike Dixon says today's deal allows Granite City Steel to stay open, but he says it's too early to know whether there will be layoffs.
Part of National's bankruptcy allowed it to skip paying property taxes to local schools and governments. But Dixon says the US Steel buyout will allow that tax money to start flowing back to those entities.