When the ArcelorMittal Coke Plant shut down last year, the city of Warren took a major hit. The loss of income tax contributed to the layoffs of workers and hurt the city's budget.
But Tuesday night Warren got some good news about the plant: it's opening back up. Mayor Michael O'Brien hopes it is a sign the worst of the recession is over in Warren.
"Hopefully we've turned the corner, and the recession is starting to perk up, and we'll be receiving good news week by week," O'Brien said.
ArcelorMittal will begin calling back about 65 workers to prepare for a mid-year restart of the company's Warren coke plant.
Adam Warrington, ArcelorMittal spokesman, said Tuesday the company is working with the United Steelworkers union and other stakeholders to bring the plant back online. The plant had ceased operations in summer 2009.
"We are working closely with the USW to ensure a safe and successful restart," Warrington said.
Upon hearing the news, Sen. Capri Cafaro, D-Hubbard, said she was pleased to see a partnership between labor, business and elected officials on the state, local and federal levels now paying dividends.
"The fact these steelworkers are going back to work is another positive sign that Warren and Trumbull County is on the path to economic recovery," she said. "We're very excited to see these folks go back to work that have been on layoff, and I can only imagine that they have been waiting to get back to work. Anytime people go back to work, it's a positive sign for our economy."
O'Brien said the city by no means is out of the woods yet, but is also not sitting on its laurels.
"But at the same time we are happy that these jobs are coming back, and it's great news for the entire area," he said.
The Severstal Steel Plant will also reopen in Warren in 2010, and it needs coke from ArcelorMittal to make the steel.
Cafaro also mentioned the recent announcement that Eastern Gateway Community College will locate its main campus in Warren.
"When you combine these recent developments with the work being done to diversify our local economy at the Warren business incubator and the IBEW training center, it's further evidence we are moving in the right direction," said Cafaro.
