Stelco lays off 85 more workers as steel industry jobs shrink

HAMILTON · Steelmaker Stelco Holdings laid off another 85 employees last week, union officials said, adding to 90 layoff notices issued the week before. The company, owned by U.S.-based Cleveland-Cliffs, has said up to 500 temporary layoffs are possible at its Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont., plants due to trade tensions. Union leader Ron Wells said technological changes and market forces are also reducing the need for workers across the sector. According to Statistics Canada, employment in primary steel manufacturing has fallen from nearly 29,000 workers in 2003 to about 14,000 as of July.

"To make a ton of steel nowadays, you need a lot fewer people," Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, told CBC News. "Now, it’s a lot more streamlined." Wells, a 47-year Stelco veteran, recalled the company's workforce was about 14,000 when he started. The job losses are part of a broader contraction at parent company Cleveland-Cliffs, which saw its total workforce drop from about 30,000 to roughly 25,000 between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025.

The company idled a blast furnace in Dearborn, Mich., earlier this year, leading to about 600 layoffs there, with CEO Lourenco Goncalves citing soft demand from automakers. Another 600 job cuts followed in Minnesota to reduce raw ore output. The current round of Ontario layoffs was announced in late September, three months after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order imposing tariffs of up to 50 per cent on some Canadian steel and aluminum imports. That move has sparked a dispute with Ottawa over Stelco's commitments under the Investment Canada Act.

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Wells argues the federal government is not doing enough to protect Canadian producers from cheaper imports. He wants higher tariff-rate quotas to limit foreign steel. "There’s too much capacity coming from offshore," he said. "It dilutes the price in Canada." Stelco president Paul Simon made a similar case in a letter to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, writing that imports accounted for 45 per cent of the market for cold-rolled and coated steel.

Research firm Wood Mackenzie forecasts U.S. steel production will rise about 4.5 per cent this year despite shrinking domestic demand. Analyst Tiago Vespoli said the high U.S. tariffs have disrupted trade, allowing American producers to gain market share while Canadian ones face pressure on exports and capacity. Wells noted a recent price rebound for galvanized steel, which now sells for about $1,800 a ton in Canada. He said the timing of the layoffs is puzzling and suggested they may be meant to pressure Prime Minister Mark Carney on trade or to bolster Trump's political standing.

Other Ontario steel producers have also cut jobs. Algoma Steel issued notices to about 1,000 workers last December, blaming U.S. tariffs while also accelerating a shift to less labour-intensive electric-arc furnace production. In June 2025, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada permanently closed a wire-drawing facility in Hamilton. A company spokesperson said economic challenges and increased imports forced the reduction in operations.

With a potential court battle looming between Cleveland-Cliffs and the Canadian government, Wells said he hopes the laid-off Stelco workers will be recalled. "It's hard to take them at their word anymore, to be honest with you," he said. "I strongly believe these layoffs are temporary. I think this trade situation will get sorted out soon and our members will get back to work."

With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News