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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u...inate-stock-buybacks-2019-12-19?mod=home-page
U.S. Steel to lay off workers, cut dividend and terminate stock buybacks

By
JEREMY C. OWENS
Published: Dec 19, 2019 7:26 p.m. ET


U.S. Steel Corp. X, -1.84% announced Thursday afternoon that its financial performance will be worse than expected in the fourth quarter, and the company plans to slash its dividend, suspend stock repurchases, lay off workers and suspend some operations. In two news releases, the steel giant said that it now expects to report an adjusted loss of $1.15 a share in the fourth quarter; analysts had expected U.S. Steel to report an adjusted loss of 62 cents a share, according to FactSet. The company said it would reduce its quarterly dividend to a penny a share from 5 cents and halt all share buybacks, and is planning to suspend much of its operations at a plant near Detroit. Those operations will begin being suspended on April 1, 2020, and will involve issuing notices of potential layoffs to 1,545 workers, but the company said it anticipates "the final number of employees who will be impacted by the idling will be lower." U.S. Steel also adjusted its capital spending forecast for 2020, lowering it by $75 million to $875 million. Shares dropped as much as 3% in after-hours trading following the announcement.