The company said it will shut down a plant in Lorain, Ohio, in March and lay off 614 workers. It said the move is temporary. U.S. Steel will also lay off 142 employees who work at a plant in Houston.
The plants make steel pipes and tubes used in drilling for oil and gas as well as construction. The Pittsburgh company said it is making the moves in response to falling oil prices and unfair competition from foreign companies.
The price of oil has dropped since mid-2014 and is now at its lowest levels in about five years, reducing demand for the pipes and tubes made at the Lorain and Houston plants.
The company stopped work at two tubular steel plants in 2014 and also filed a complaint about unfair competition by foreign companies.
U.S. Steel had about 26,000 employees in North America and 12,500 in Europe at the end of 2013. The company's shares lost 44 cents to $24.91 in midday trading.
