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Commercial Metals to shutter Rancho Cucamonga steel mill

Commercial Metals Co. ("CMC") plans to close its steel mill in Rancho Cucamonga by year's end, a company official said last Friday.

The Irving, Texas-based company initially announced the closure in a March 19 earnings call with investors, although a date for the shutdown of CMC Steel California was not given at the time.

When asked this week, CMC spokeswoman Susan Gerber said the operation, at 12459 Arrow Route, will wind down by Dec. 30. She didn't say how many layoffs would ensue. "This decision was made due to the increasingly high cost of doing business in California and excessive regulatory environment imposed by the state."

That confirmation comes less than a year after the company announced it was laying off at least 100 workers as it stopped buying and processing scrap metal from outside sources. That move put an end to its melting operation.