As local leaders consider the impact of a possible closure of AK Steel, Commissioner Leslie Osche told our newsroom details of what the plant means to the Butler County economy.
“There is a big gap between AK’s payroll and any other payroll of the top employers in the county,” Osche said. “AK’s payroll is in excess of $100 million. To put it in perspective, in 2016 when Westinghouse was fairly solid, their payroll was $70 million.”
The latest numbers available from the state show that AK Steel is a top five employer in the county—only trailing organizations like the federal government and Butler Healthcare Providers.
State Representative Marci Mustello (R-Butler) also added some additional information about AK Steel’s workforce.
“A shutdown would be devastating to Butler County residents. The plant has 1,400 employees, 1,500 retiree families and 540 widows,” Mustello said in a press release.
As reported earlier this week, Lourenco Goncalves the CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, the business poised to purchase AK Steel this Friday, recently testified before the Congressional Steel Caucus in Washington that unless his company receives Section 232 tariff relief, he will be forced to close the AK Steel plants in Butler and Zanesville, OH.
