Signage along Route 8 that led to the entrance of AK Steel has been replaced with signs that say Cliffs. Multiple signs on the property that previously said AK Steel have been changed to reflect the new owner, Cleveland Cliffs. The company purchased AK Steel in December 2019.

Drivers heading south on Route 8 likely noticed a change to a few signs on the road to the west, past AK Steel. Signs that used to lead drivers to the AK Steel entrance, with AK Steel prominently displayed, now read Cliffs to represent the company's new owner, Cleveland Cliffs, based in Cleveland, Ohio.

As of Wednesday, the sign on the building that said Butler Works now has a Cliffs banner. The letters AK have also been removed from the water tower on the property.

The purchase of AK Steel was announced in December 2019, and Cleveland-Cliffs acquired AK Steel for $1.1 billion in issued and outstanding shares of AK Steel stock in mid-March 2020. AK Steel's Butler plant employs about 1,400 hourly and salaried workers and has 1,469 retirees and 562 surviving spouses.

This is a breaking news report — read more in Thursday's Butler Eagle.