Employees of Liberty Steel's wire mill in Bartonville will be furloughed for at least two months, starting on Friday.
A spokesman said the decision came after the British company took a look at the steel market's current challenges, including the influx of low-priced imports. The Peoria Journal Star reports around 500 workers total will be furloughed at the plant formerly known as Keystone Steel & Wire.
The Liberty Steel spokesman said the company hopes to restart wire mill operations in early February as the market improves. Liberty Steel is one of the Peoria area's leading manufacturing employers.
The company is part of British businessman Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance conglomerate. The company is under criminal investigation in the U.K. for alleged fraud linked to the 2021 collapse of its biggest lender, Greensill Capital.
Liberty Steel's Georgetown, South Carolina wire rod manufacturing plant was idled in April. The local newspaper reported in October the facility was down to just six employees, and the company was selling off equipment.
Still, this isn't the first time the Bartonville operation has faced challenges. Keystone Steel & Wire was bailed out in 2002 by a $10 million state loan that upon repayment seeded a special Peoria County economic development fund informally dubbed for its namesake.
