WEST CHESTER, Ohio — AK Steel announced Wednesday it will idle most of its Ashland, Ky., carbon steel plant for several months, laying off almost 750 employees.

Alan McCoy, AK spokesman, said Thursday the plant, as well as others in the company, have been partially or entirely idled for weeks off and on during the past few months.

The idling is the result of the "global economic recession," he said, damaged further by the bankruptcy filing of Chrysler and poor financial shape of General Motors.

AK Steel produces steel for many automotive parts. Car and truck production slowdowns have hurt the steelmaker as much as the general recession, including the lack of infrastructure and capital spending, McCoy said.

However, AK Steel's Butler Works in Butler Township has been the least effected by the recession of the company's plants, McCoy said.

"While Butler does make some car exhausts, it does also make electrical and stainless steel," he said. "But with people not buying, the electrical and stainless markets have weakened also."

The Butler Works employs about 1,500 workers and has had few layoffs recently, McCoy said.

The Middletown plant was idled while extensive repairs were made to its blast furnace. Now that those repairs are almost complete, the company plans to idle Ashland's carbon steel making since that plant does not make the variety of steel widths that Middletown can, nor does it have rolling facilities, McCoy said.

Ashland's coke plant will remain open.

Other plants, such as Mansfield, Ohio, have been idled for days or weeks at a time as have the Coshocton and Zanesville plants, both in Ohio, and the Rockport, Ind., facility.

McCoy said AK Steel probably will not be directly effected by the federal stimulus package since much of that is earmarked for infrastructure spending.

"We do make some steel for highway drainage. The tonnage is not large, but right now, every pound helps," he said.

The Ashland Works is expected to be closed until late July or early August.