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St. John residents cautiously optimistic after plans to reopen Bayou Steel emerge

He was one of 375 workers left in the lurch after Bayou Steel announced without any warning it would shut down and file for bankruptcy.

NEW ORLEANS — Joseph Lewis has plenty of time to spend with his 12-year-old grandson Dominic these days.

But for as happy as he is for that, it happened under less-than-ideal circumstances.

We first met Lewis as he filled out unemployment papers in October.

He was one of 375 workers left in the lurch after Bayou Steel announced without any warning it would shut down and file for bankruptcy.

Lewis misses the job — and the people.

“Do I miss my foremen and my supervisors? Yes,” he said. “When you think about missing work, I think you miss the people you worked for.”

While the plant on Tuesday didn't look much different than it did when workers were sent home on Sept. 30, that could soon change.

London-based Liberty Steel Group announced Monday that it's buying the plant for $28 million.

CEO Sanjeev Gupta said his company will have to make upgrades to the plant in LaPlace, but that will have to happen fast. They want to restart the recycling program in mid-2020. And the goal is to get steel produced again by 2021.

In a Christmas Eve message to his employees, Gupta said he's hopeful 2020 will be a better year for the steel industry.

“This period of turmoil, motivated us to make significant inroads in transforming our businesses, placing us in a very strong position to take advantage of the recovery in the steel market now underway,” he said.

St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom said she hopes laid-off Bayou Steel workers still looking for work will find it again at the mill.

“I'm sure they'd like to stay in their hometown and work where they worked for many, many years,” she said.

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