The union representing steelworkers at Stelco Holdings Inc. has confirmed to CTV News that 350 employees at the plant in Hamilton, Ont. will be laid off. United Steelworkers Local 1005 confirmed the planned layoffs on Monday afternoon but did not provide any further details. Stelco declined an interview but in a statement to BNN, a spokesperson said the Hamilton plant is currently idling its finishing operations while continuing to concentrate steel production in Lake Erie. “Very importantly, job opportunities at Lake Erie Works will be offered to Hamilton employees. We expect that a significant number of employees affected by the indefinite idle at Hamilton should be absorbed at Lake Erie Works,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. Stelco also said the amount of steel they produce will not be impacted by the Hamilton plant’s idling, though there will be a “change in product mix, with a higher concentration of hot rolled steel products.” Cleveland-Cliffs, an American-based steel manufacturer, acquired Stelco Holdings in a $3.4-billion deal in 2024. Ontario Premier Doug Ford slammed the owners of Stelco in August last year, accusing the chairman of “signing away” Canadian steel to the United States and supporting U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on numerous occasions. “I got a problem with that guy,” Ford said at a news conference. Lourenco Goncalves, the chairman and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, had said in July that, without further trade protections “the future competitiveness of our galvanizing lines in Hamilton is at risk.” “We continue to defend our point of view with the Canadian government officials, asking them to do what is right to protect the steel industry in Canada, just as our American government has done here in the United States,” Goncalves said. The U.S. slapped a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel imports on Aug. 22. This is a breaking news story. More details to come...
