Investor Relations



Weirton Steel Provides Details Of Workforce Reduction Program

October 23, 2003

WEIRTON, W.VA. –  Weirton Steel Corp. today provided details of how its management workforce reduction program will administered.

"Some public reports have not adequately portrayed the program. Court procedures and court documents are often highly intricate and its understandable how easy it is to misinterpret both. In addition, affected personnel today began to receive details of the program by postal service," said Gregg Warren, Weirton Steel spokesman.

On Tuesday, a bankruptcy court judge in Wheeling, W.Va., approved the management workforce reduction. Details of the program include:

• The reduction may involve up to 175 of the company’s 472 management personnel.
  
  
• Layoffs, both voluntary and involuntary, will begin next week and will continue over the next several months.
  
  
• Depending on whether individuals agree to sign a legal waiver, those who are eligible for immediate retirement can qualify for monthly cash benefits totaling $40,000 to be paid over a period of 25 months or until they reach age 62, whichever is longer. They also will receive health care benefits for one year.
  
  
• Also depending on the waiver, employees who have not obtained enough years to retire, but do have more than three years with the company, are eligible for monthly cash payments of $1,500 equal to the number of years of service to a maximum of $40,000. For example, if an employee has seven years of service, he or she would receive a payment for seven months. Health care benefits would be available for one year.
  
  
• A lesser level of benefits is payable to personnel who do not sign the waiver.

The management reductions are expected to save the company up to $11 million annually. The company also has proposed to reduce up to 800 union represented positions, but the actual number of affected positions must first be negotiated with Independent Steelworkers Union.

On May 19, Weirton Steel became the 38^th domestic steel company since 1998 to file for bankruptcy protection. Earlier this week, the 42^nd steel company filed for such protection.

Weirton Steel, with a workforce of 3,482, is the nation’s fifth largest integrated steel company and second largest producer of tin mill products.

Weirton Steel Corp. Media Contact:
Gregg Warren, Director-Corporate Communications (304) 797-2828







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