US-Owned Canadian Steel Plants Begin Mass Layoffs Amid Trump Tariffs

Steel News  |  2026-10-08 23:37:55   |   By

With the midterm elections in 26 days, Trump is looking for evidence that his controversial tariff policy will return jobs to the United States as promised.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Layoffs have reportedly begun at the Hamilton's Stelco steel plant in Canada, which is owned by American company Cleveland-Cliffs, amid President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canadian steel imports.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously suggested that he would take legal action in response to such a move, arguing that it violated the takeover agreement Cleveland-Cliffs signed in 2024.

With the midterm elections in 26 days, Trump is looking for evidence that his controversial tariff policy will return jobs to the United States as promised. It comes as tensions over trade and sovereignty have pushed relations between the U.S. and Canada, previously solid allies, to a post-World War II low.

Newsweek contacted Stelco by email and Cleveland-Cliffs by online media inquiry form on Thursday for comment outside regular office hours.

Stelco Layoffs

Ron Wells, who heads the United Steelworkers Local 1005 union that covers Stelco’s Hamilton plant, told CBC News on Thursday that layoffs have begun and are expected to continue over the next three weeks.

He said he expected 300 to 350 layoffs, adding that “people have a general idea” if their jobs are at risk but haven’t all been formally notified. Wells also warned that there could be additional layoffs at Stelco's Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke that is covered by a different union.

Jordan Williams, a Hamilton steelworker, told CBC Hamilton that he was given his notice on Wednesday and it takes effect on Sunday. Wells said that due to the Ontario's Employment Standards Act, temporary layoffs shorter than 35 weeks could be imposed immediately, though if it goes beyond that point and becomes permanent, “they would have to add those 12 weeks to any severance pay owing.” Laid-off workers are continuing to receive medical benefits at this time.

“People are obviously worried about the future,' Wells said. 'How [are] you going to pay the bills?...But the overriding emotion is anger. I think almost all the workers I've talked to, they feel that this shutdown and layoff isn't necessary. There's a market out there for our product and we're being used as pawns in a political game.”

Cleveland-Cliffs announced that layoffs were coming to the Hamilton site on September 28, with Stelco reporting that up to 500 workers could lose their jobs. However, the American parent company said that some of those affected would move to Lake Erie Works.

In a memo sent by Cleveland-Cliffs to workers, the company explicitly linked the move to Trump’s steel tariffs on Canada, which it said had “significantly shrunk the market” for its products.

Canadian Government Intervention

In a statement provided to Newsweek, Canadian Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly said: “For some time, our government has made clear to the company that we are ready and willing to provide financial support to sustain operations and protect jobs. Its decision to reject these practical proposals and continue with layoffs is extremely disappointing.

“Stelco and Cleveland-Cliffs have made significant commitments to Canadian steelworkers. We will use every lever possible to defend Canadian industry, protect jobs, and secure our supply chain.”

Speaking after the initial announcement, Carney threatened Cleveland-Cliffs with legal action, arguing that its proposal violated the terms of its $2.4 billion 2024 takeover of Stelco. The takeover was approved by the Canadian government after Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to legal binding five-year employment commitments including no reduction in the number of unionized employees.

“Our thoughts are with the workers and the families who have been betrayed by the company,” Carney said.

Referring to Cleveland-Cliffs, he added: “There’s money on the table from the federal government. The company made representations and has legal obligations for employment. We intend to use all powers that we have and pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”

During a previous CBC interview Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said: 'I would not have acquired the Stelco if I knew that Canada and the United States would become what they became—enemies in trade.'

Goncalves has been an enthusiastic supporter of Trump's steel tariff policy, which he told Politico he had 'influenced,' adding: 'I have been fighting for this for almost 30 years.'

On Tuesday the governments of Canada and Ontario announced that $203,000 would be spent on retraining 75 “steel and manufacturing workers” under a plan run by Learning Connections Hamilton.

In an emailed statement to CBC the following day, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said: “When the news on Stelco broke, I immediately called on the federal and provincial governments to push them to save these jobs through negotiation or enforcement, and to immediately release relief funding for impacted workers and their families.

Courtesy: www.newsweek.com