Tenaris Cutting 900+ Employees

Tenaris revealed late last week that it will be cutting more than 900 employees in the United States due to the “abrupt, sharp decline in the price of oil and subsequent decrease in market activity”.

The company said workers at its Koppel and Ambridge facilities had been informed that operations at the two plants will be suspended effective March 31. Tenaris outlined that it will also be suspending operations at its threading plant in Brookfield and implementing staff reductions at its threading plant in Baytown and at its Hickman welded pipe plant, effective April 17.

Given the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Tenaris said it will be offering employees being laid off three months of COBRA health insurance with the possibility of being extended “should the outbreak persist”.

“These are extraordinary times for our sector that require us to implement difficult, short-term measures to temporarily lean our operations to maintain a long-term solid position to serve our customers,” Luca Zanotti, Tenaris U.S. president, said in a company statement.

In a separate statement on March 17, Tenaris announced layoffs at its welded steel pipe manufacturing facility in Calgary. The company anticipates the layoffs of approximately 110 union employees as of April 1.

“This decision has been extremely difficult, but it has been made in the effort to keep our Canadian operations sustainable in the current and foreseeable future market conditions,” Ricardo Prosperi, Tenaris Canada president, said in a company statement at the time.

“Despite the current challenges, we remain optimistic about the future of domestic manufacturing in Canada,” he added.

Tenaris, which traces its roots back to 1909, describes itself as a leading supplier of steel pipes and related services for the world’s energy industry. The company is present in 30 countries and employs 24,000 people across the globe, according to its website.

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