Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz issued the following statement today regarding the recent announcement about the halting of operations of the Republic Steel plant located on Lake Shore Road in Blasdell.

Statement from Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz:

“As we learned yesterday evening, Grupo Simec, the Mexican company which owns Republic Steel, decided to “indefinitely idle” their plants here in Blasdell and in Canton, OH. Nearly 500 workers between New York and Ohio are being displaced, as the company moves those operations to Mexico. Nobody in Erie County government, the Town of Hamburg, the Erie County or Hamburg IDAs, organized labor, or the New York State Department of Labor was given advanced notice of this decision. That is unconscionable and cruel, and Erie County and the Department of Labor are looking into whether or not Grupo Simec violated the WARN Act. Because of this callous action, 178 of our Erie County neighbors, including 172 men and women of the United Steelworkers, are now unemployed.

I am the proud son of a steelworker and a Lackawanna native who lived through the closure of Bethlehem Steel. What happened then holds true today; good paying, local jobs with great benefits were taken away in an instant to produce steel overseas. And, just as it was unwise then, it is unwise now. We learned invaluable lessons during the pandemic about the importance of domestic supply chains and the need for onshore manufacturing. We’ve seen through the war in Ukraine and tensions with China the necessity of strong, American manufacturing.

The Biden administration and congressional leaders like Senator Schumer recognize this, with their efforts passing the CHIPS Act and the push for the new ONSHORE Act. And, Erie County witnesses this economic push for domestic manufacturing firsthand, with the bevy of activity at Renaissance Commerce Park – built atop the remnants of Bethlehem Steel.

Erie County and our partners are here to help the 178 men and women of Republic Steel displaced by this repugnant, profits-over-people move by Grupo Simec. I want to thank our partners in New York State, Workforce Buffalo, Invest Buffalo Niagara, the Town of Hamburg, and the United Steelworkers for all they have done to quickly respond to this situation. Erie County maintains a steadfast commitment in providing access to good jobs and opportunity for all.”