Nippon Steel Executives Visit Gary Workers Amid Concerns over Pending US Steel Sale

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):   On Thursday, top executives with Japanese-owned Nippon Steel met with local steelworkers in Gary, Indiana, to win over skeptics.

As Nippon works to buy out US Steel in a proposed $14.9 billion transaction, the visiting Nippon Steel executive is fighting what appears to be an uphill battle. Looming over Thursday’s pitch in Gary are reports that President Joe Biden plans to block the sale on national security grounds.

At City Hall, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton cited Nippon Steel’s history in the state and its plan to boost the historic Gary Works Steel plant with a nearly $1 billion investment.  

“Nippon has been in Indiana for 50 years. That’s a story that hasn’t been told,” he said.

Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori, hoping to close the proposed buyout with eight different steel mill operations nationwide, said the deal would not result in job loss or plant closure.

“If anything, we will need more steelworkers,” Mori said.

Still, reports show that Biden and President-Elect Donald Trump would block the deal for national security reasons.

Mayor Melton countered with Congressional support, however, making a case for Nippon Steel and new jobs for steelworkers. 

“For the city, the partnership would mean so much,” Melton said.

Nippon Steel executives are offering US steelworkers a $5,000 signing bonus to entice them to close the transaction before the end of the year. Union leaders deride the offer as a bribe. 

However, Daryl Redmond, a former union member who spoke with WGN News, appeared to support Nippon’s positioning. 

“They will bring an investment,” Reymond says, “that is badly needed in Gary.”

Courtesy: www.wgntv.com