AK Steel announced it will implement a salaried workforce layoff plan due to the continuing economic downturn. The layoffs, which were prompted by lower orders for steel products, will likely affect salaried employees at all of the company’s plants and offices. AK Steel hopes the layoffs are temporary but warned that they could become permanent. AK Steel announced several cost-reduction measures for salaried employees in December, including an indefinite 5% pay reduction effective at the start of the year, freezing the defined benefit plan and replacing it with a defined contribution retirement benefit, and offering temporary incentives for voluntary retirements.

Severstal North America announced it will continue its temporary voluntary and involuntary layoff program. The layoffs are affecting both salaried and hourly personnel at the company’s Warren, Ohio; Wheeling, W.V.; Sparrows Point, Md.; and Dearborn, Mich., flat-rolled steel facilities.