Stelco Holdings terminated 85 workers recently, as stated by union leader Ron Wells. The previous week, the company handed out 90 layoff notices.
Although the U.S.-owned steelmaker claims that laying off up to 500 employees in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont., is a temporary effect of the Canada-U.S. trade conflict, advancements in technology and shifts in demand are combining with tariff challenges to reduce the industry’s workforce.
Statistics Canada reports that direct employment in Canada’s primary steel manufacturing sector dropped from nearly 29,000 workers in 2003 to around 14,000 workers by July.
Wells, the president of United Steelworkers Local 1005 and a 47-year Stelco veteran, mentioned that the workforce at Stelco was approximately 14,000 strong when he started.
“To produce a ton of steel nowadays, fewer workers are needed,” Wells informed CBC News. “The process is much more efficient.”
As per U.S. regulatory filings, the total workforce of Cleveland-Cliffs, the Ohio-based owner of Stelco and North America’s largest flat-rolled steel producer, decreased from about 30,000 employees to roughly 25,000 between December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2025.
This year, job cuts included approximately 600 layoffs in Dearborn, Mich., where Cleveland-Cliffs halted a large blast furnace due to soft demand from North American automakers. CEO Lourenco Goncalves attributed this to the reduced demand.
The decision led to another 600 job cuts in Minnesota to align the company’s raw ore output with the decreased demand for blast furnaces.
In late September, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing tariffs of up to 50% on specific steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Stelco announced laying off up to 500 employees across its two Ontario facilities.
This sparked a disagreement between the company and the federal government concerning Stelco’s obligations under the Investment Canada Act to retain a specific number of workers in Canada.
Apart from Stelco, other Ontario steelworkers are facing uncertainty regarding their jobs. Last December, Algoma Steel issued layoff notices to about 1,000 employees, nearly a third of its workforce. The Sault Ste. Marie-based company attributed this to U.S. tariffs impacting its export competitiveness and fast-tracking the transition to electric-arc furnace production.
Additionally, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada declared the permanent closure of its Parkdale wire-drawing facility in Hamilton in June 2025, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal S.A., the world’s second-largest steel and mining company.
Calls have been made to address the influx of cheaper foreign steel imports affecting Canadian producers. Wells criticized Ottawa for not doing enough to protect Canadian producers from these imports and called for increased tariff-rate quotas to mitigate the competition.
A new forecast by research firm Wood Mackenzie contrasts the outlook for the steel industry in the U.S. and Canada, forecasting a rise in U.S. steel production while Canadian producers face challenges due to disrupted trade flows and increased competition from U.S. steelmakers.
Wells expressed optimism over recent price increases for galvanized steel, a product Stelco is moving away from in Hamilton. He speculated that the layoffs and mill idling were strategic moves to prompt action and a trade agreement.
Goncalves, openly supporting Trump’s tariff policies, drew criticism from Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
With a potential legal battle between Cliffs and Ottawa looming, Wells remains hopeful for the laid-off workers’ recall, believing the layoffs are temporary and anticipating a resolution to the trade situation.