ECORSE, MI -- Workers at a pair of steel plants in Ecorse and River Rouge will receive notices of potential layoffs starting next year. According to the Associated Press, 1,545 workers at Great Lakes Works will receive notices from the U.S. Steel Corporation as the company has plans to idle work at the plants. The company plans begin idling the iron and steel-making plants around April 1, while the hot strip mill rolling facility will be idle before the end of 2020.

“These decisions are never easy nor are they taken lightly,” president and chief executive David Burritt said in a written statement. “However, we must responsibly manage our resources while also strengthening our company’s long-term future — a future many stakeholders depend on.”

While the company will issue notices to 1,545 employees, U.S. Steel also said they expect the actual number of affected employees to be lower. Some of the work will shift to the Gary Works Plant in Gary, Indiana.