www.EmploymentCrossing.com US Steel is putting off construction of a new $450 million plant in Alabama, citing the economic crisis. The Sumpter County facility, which was expected to create 235 jobs, would have produced a material that could be used as an alternative to coke in the steelmaking process, according to an Associated Press report. Project delayed, not scrapped US Steel spokesperson John Armstrong said the timing had to be adjusted because of the economic slowdown, but stressed that it has not been scrapped. He said there is no specified timetable when US Steel would start work on the project. Construction on the initial 450,000-square-foot facility was supposed to start this year on a 360-acre site near the town of Epes. US Steel employs 49,000 globally Pittsburgh-based US Steel was to initially invest $150 million and create 75 jobs at the start. One hundred and eight-year-old US Steel, the world's second largest steelmaker, employed 49,000 people globally in 2007.
