"In light of continued weakness in the plate market, we are taking a maintenance shutdown of our plate and strip complex next week," Brenda Stenta, the company's manager of corporate communications, tells SooToday.

"This will result in a temporary layoff in the range of 300 to 330 personnel for about a week," Stenta says.

The company is also working through tech problems at its No. 7 blast furnace.

"We are flexing production levels on the furnace as we work through some technical issues," Stenta tells us.

"We have a team of ironmaking experts on site working to ensure optimal performance from the furnace going forward."

"We continue to ship steel and service our customers accordingly."

Just before the Labour Day weekend, the company laid off between 70 and 85 employees, attributed in part to a depressed market for plate steel.