The Latest: Minntac to lay off 260 due to slowed demand

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Minnesota (all times local):

U.S. Steel has announced it will lay off 260 workers at its Minntac operation in Mountain Iron as the coronavirus pandemic has cut demand for steel.

The layoffs were announced Friday. The Star Tribune reported they will start May 10 and are expected to last from eight to 11 weeks.

“We all knew it was probably coming, unfortunately,” United Steelworkers Local 1938 President Steve Bonach said. “We could go back sooner, but there are so many unknowns with the virus.”

Minntac is the fourth Iron Range mine to lay off workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Hibtac, Keetac and Northshore Mining previously announced layoffs, meaning about 1,750 miners will be out of work over the next several months.

Minntac is the largest taconite operation in the state with a capacity of 16 million tons of iron ore annually.

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Minnesota’s largest pediatric hospital has a plan to furlough the equivalent of 181 full-time nurses as it struggles financially with fewer patients due to COVID-19.

Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association will begin voting on a furlough agreement with Children’s Minnesota Friday. The furloughs affect about 17% of nurses at the hospital.

The Star Tribune reports Children’s announced earlier this week that it would stop offering some medical and surgical services at its St. Paul campus because of a decrease in patients.

A number of health care groups in Minnesota are dealing with declining revenue because elective surgeries have been canceled due to an expected surge of coronavirus patients.

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday said he’s looking to revise the ban on elective surgeries in the coming days.