Pacilio is equally high on the local workers. At 16,000, the workforce in Kosice is seriously bloated. The Gary Works produces twice as much steel with half as many workers. But low labor costs in Kosice have enabled the company to agree to a no-layoff policy for 10 years. According to Pacilio, U.S. Steel's main contribution to the Kosice operation has been to introduce modern business practices and ethics.
Transparency is a new idea here.
For all of the 20 years I worked here, I never saw any of the old bosses on the plant floor. . . . But the Americans are meeting with us all the time. Only about 30 American managers will be involved in the actual running of the plant. Instead, Slovak personnel will be sent to Pittsburgh to learn how the company does business.