Nippon Steel announces $1 billion investment into U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works operation

PITTSBURGH - Nippon Steel, the Japanese company with plans to take over U.S. Steel, has pledged to invest $1 billion into the company's Mon Valley Works operation.  

The Tokyo-based company announced Wednesday that the massive investment into the plant will help with increasing efficiency and quality, as well as helping to bolster the American steel supply. 

The $1 billion investment is nearly twice what the company had previously promised.

"Nippon Steel plans to ensure Mon Valley Works operates for decades to come and will undertake the necessary investments so that it remains viable and provides jobs for future generations of steelworkers in Pennsylvania," the company said.

In a statement, U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt said in part that Nippon's pledge "is further evidence of its unwavering commitment to U.S. Steel and all of our stakeholders." 

"U.S. Steel will be a much stronger company as a result of the transaction and these investments," Burritt added. "The entire American steel industry will be stronger and more globally competitive, too."

U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works operation consists of four plants in Clairton, Braddock, West Mifflin, and Fairless Hills, which is outside Philadelphia. 

In addition to the $1 billion investment announcement for the Mon Valley Works operation, Nippon said it plans to spend around $300 million to improve a blast furnace at the Gary Works plant in Indiana that U.S. Steel owns. 

The sale to Nippon has been approved by U.S. Steel's shareholders, but still requires regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. 

Steelworkers union pushes back in spite of investment announcement

In the wake of the announcement of the new pledge, the United Steelworkers union said in part that "a press release is not a contract," also saying they can't trust what U.S. Steel and Nippon are telling workers. 

"We know that these are the same managers who broke the commitment to invest in the Mon Valley and instead bought Big River, who have shut one USW operation after another, and have broken trust with its workers throughout Dave Burritt's reign."

The union also said that Nippon is trying to hide behind its North American shell company to shield itself from contractual obligations to retirees and communities. 

Leaders have voiced opposition to U.S. Steel sale

The sale has drawn opposition from President Joe Biden's administration on economic and national security grounds, and from former President Donald Trump

When President Biden visited the Pittsburgh headquarters of United Steelworkers earlier this year, he reiterated his opposition to the Nippon Steel purchase.

President Biden will be back in Pittsburgh for Labor Day alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic nominee for president in the upcoming election. 

Pennsylvania's two Democratic senators, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, have both voiced opposition to the sale. Fetterman lives across the street from U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock and has been vocal about protecting jobs.

The United Steelworkers union has also opposed the acquisition.

The U.S. steel industry has declined over the decades as global steel production came to be dominated initially by Japan, and more recently by China. 

Under the deal, U.S. Steel will keep its name and its headquarters in Pittsburgh, where it was founded in 1901.