A top U.S. Steel executive told employees that jobs in the troubled steelmaker’s accounting and treasury departments are being outsourced because the Pittsburgh company wants “to develop a world-class financial reporting team.”
The email from vice president and controller Colleen M. Darragh distributed late last week did not say how many jobs in six functions will be eliminated. Company spokesman Sarah Cassella said this week that about 75 administrative support jobs will be affected over the next several months.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained a copy of the email.
In it, Ms. Darragh said the decision was made after U.S. Steel examined how peer companies perform the functions.
“I want you to know employee performance was not the driving force for this decision,” she wrote. “Like you, the individuals currently performing this work have been resilient in this market. We know this is difficult. But it’s the right decision as we change how we do business.”
Ms. Cassella said a U.S.-based company has been hired to perform the work. She declined to comment on where the work will be performed.
U.S. Steel is reeling from a crush of cheap imports that have slashed steel prices, as well as from depressed conditions in the energy market that have affected its tubular business.
The company reported a 2015 loss of $1.5 billion despite savings of $815 million from the company’s Carnegie Way efficiency campaign. Outsourcing the accounting and treasury jobs is part of that initiative, Ms. Cassella said.
According to Ms. Darragh’s email, the functions affected are corporate accounts payable, headquarters general accounting, invoice resolution and control, payroll, processed products, and treasury. Ms. Cassella declined to disclose how many people perform those functions.
U.S. Steel outsourced its audit department functions in 2014 to Ernst & Young.
Len Boselovic: lboselovic@post-gazette.com.
First Published: February 10, 2016, 5:00 a.m.