The Canadian government has given the American parent company of a Hamilton, Ontario based steel plant until Tuesday to come up with a plan for how it will live up to job commitments made more than two years ago. That company, Stelco, began laying off employees, an effect of the ongoing tariff war between the U.S. and Canada.
Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving this past weekend, but not everyone was feeling festive for the Monday holiday.
“What’s my future? That’s all I’m thinking about. What do I do next?” said Mike Watts, a 21-year employee of Stelco who was among the first round of layoffs. “Today I just received my envelope. A couple foremen came by and handed it to me and wished me luck.”
Stelco recently announced plans to lay off as many as 500 workers at its Hamilton operations, blaming weak demand and the trade war, and saying the layoffs are needed to ensure the company’s survival.
When Ottawa approved the takeover of Stelco in 2024 by Cleveland-Cliffs, the new U.S. based owner promised to maintain the number of unionized jobs for at least five years. But Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves is a known supporter of President Donald Trump and an advocate for tariffs.
“We think it’s a manufactured crisis. And it seems like they’re working together to try to put pressure on our government to come go to Washington and possibly sign a bad deal,” said Ron Wells, president of Steelworkers Local 1005. “We feel that we’re being used as pawns in this trade war.”
In Watts’ words, a lot of what the company is saying about low demand, doesn’t hold water.
“The thing is we have Canadian orders. We have this company, Cleveland-Cliffs has refused to fill their Canadian orders. They’re sending all of our slabs down to the United States,” Watts said. “We had companies from British Columbia say they want our steel. Honda from Alliston, they want our steel. This company just doesn’t want to help Canadian product out. They just don’t want to fulfill their obligation to Canadians.”
Tuesday, October 13 is the deadline for Stelco to live up to its binding commitment.
“If they’re honest, they’ll get back to us by the end of the delay, which is the end of Tuesday. And they will come up with a plan,” said Melanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Industry. “I’ve talked to the CEO of the company. We’ve put money on the table to help the company, and they’ve said no. So, let’s see whether they’re serious.”
The federal government has said it will take legal action against Stelco if it doesn’t comply with its commitments. But a court battle, if it were to happen, could take years. Kevon Stewart, director of Steelworkers Union District 6, says the workers need action now.
“We need to focus on saving these jobs now. If public ownership or nationalization of Stelco is an option, no option should be removed right now,” he said.
So far, Stelco has refused to reverse its planned layoffs, despite the threat of legal action. In a letter to the industry minister on Friday, it also rejected the allegation that the layoffs violate its employment commitments made in 2024.
