U.S. Steel idles Ala. plant like 1 in Ill.

GRANITE CITY -- A move by United States Steel to idle its plant in Alabama may not bode well for 2,000 workers laid off months ago from a similar factory owned by the company in the southwestern Illinois town of Granite City.

The Pittsburgh-based company announced Wednesday it is temporarily shutting down its steelmaking operations in Fairfield, Ala., because of the recession. About 1,600 people worked in the plant in March.

The Alabama plant and the one in Granite City make flat-rolled steel and tube.

The company in December laid off 1,600 of the roughly 2,000 steel workers in Granite City, then furloughed all but a few of the remaining workers three months later.

The company said any restart would depend on how quickly orders increase.