ASHLAND -- Four dozen union workers at the AK Steel plant in Ashland were called back to work Monday, raising hopes that several hundred other employees could return to their jobs soon.

Still, there is no definitive timetable as to when more than 600 other members of United Steelworkers of America Local 1865 will be called back to work, according to a company spokesman.

AK Steel called 48 union members back to work over the weekend to begin the process of starting up a blast furnace that was idled weeks ago, said Mike Hewlett, Local 185 president.

"It's a start," Hewlett said Monday. "I think it's positive."

The union currently has 80 steelworkers on the job and about 620 still laid off. The company laid off most of the 700 union workers last November, citing the poor national economy.

The job situation is fluid right now, Hewlett said.

"Initially they were going to call back seven, then they called back 48," he said. "They could call back more next week. They're supposed to let us know by Friday. But the economy dictates what will happen. You would be a fool to think we aren't in trouble."

"The general economy hasn't changed for the better," company spokesman Alan McCoy said Monday afternoon. "Our order book is still down."

The workers were called back to take at look at what's needed to restart the blast furnace that has been on "hot idle" status for some seven weeks, McCoy said. There's no definitive timetable on restarting the blast furnace that produces steel slabs that are finished and used primarily in the automotive industry, he said.

More steelworkers could be called back to work on Thursday, said Mark Lynch, Local 1865 treasurer and an electrician at the steel plant. Lynch was not among those called back to work Monday.

"We're kind of hoping that most of us will be called back in by the first of the month," Lynch said Monday morning. It could take another several weeks to get the blast furnace back up and running, he said.

Bobby Lintz, a union trustee, said the callbacks to work are supposed to be done by seniority under the contract. The company will have to call back some 350 people to work before he'll get his job back. He has worked at the steel plant for about eight years.

"Everyone's pretty optimistic," Lintz said.

The process, however, could take a month or longer to get the blast furnace ready to begin producing steel, he said.

"There's a lot to do," he said. "It takes time. To take it down, you have to do it gradually so people can get in there and work. It could take a month."

John Ramey, another steelworker, said he talked to a company official who said AK Steel wants to have the Amanda blast furnace back in operation by Feb. 7.

"We need to see what the furnace needs," Hewlett said. "I'm sure problems will crop up. We'll know more after we see what kind of shape the furnace is in."

The company also has to do some repairs at its blast furnace at the Middletown, Ohio, plant, McCoy said.

Getting the blast furnace back up and running will allow the company more of an opportunity to do extensive work in Middletown, he said.

Photo courtesy of The Independent, Ashland, Ky.

Amanda blast furnace at AK Steel. The furnace will be on "hot-idle" status while AK Steel shuts down much of its operations at the Ashland Works, where roughly 1,100 workers are employed. The company has blamed the shutdown on the poor economy.