Steel maker ArcelorMittal plans to suspend operations at its Cleveland site in early May

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amid a declining market for steel and lay off

about 700 more workers for an undetermined length of time, a local union official said.

About 450 of the roughly 1,400 members of the United Steelworkers of America Local 979 already have been laid off in the past three months, Local 979 vice president Dan Boone said.

Union officials and company management informed workers about the new round of layoffs in several meetings on Friday, he said, adding that economic conditions had foreshadowed the potential for more cuts. He said many of the workers had been cut during shutdowns by other northeast Ohio steel companies in the past.

"We've been through this before, so there was no mass panic, no disruption at the meetings," Boone said. "For the people who have been through it before, pretty much a here-we-go-again attitude, obviously extreme disappointment."

An estimated 250 workers would remain at the site to keep up with environmental protection tasks and maintenance of the mill and finishing plant in the city's Flats area, he said.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, said it is responding to poor market conditions and collapsing demand.