Stelco says it will recall 175 temporarily laid-off workers in Hamilton, Ont., to restart operations planned to finish on Dec. 1 due to increased customer demand.
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Stelco says it will recall 175 temporarily laid-off workers in Hamilton, Ont., as it plans to restart finishing operations at the plant, with the restart scheduled to be completed by Dec. 1.
The company said in a statement that the recall is being driven by increased customer demand. “I would like to thank our valued customers for the faith they have placed in us, and our workers for the patience and resilience they have continued to demonstrate during this challenging period,” Stelco president Paul Simon said.
Stelco said restarting operations will take several weeks, but that all affected employees will be made whole retroactively for the standard wages they would have received during the period they were temporarily laid off.
The recall follows layoffs announced in September by Stelco’s parent company, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Cleveland-Cliffs cited U.S. tariffs, weak demand for Canadian steel and competition from imported steel products as reasons for the job cuts.
The federal government raised concerns about the layoffs after approving Cleveland-Cliffs’ 2024 acquisition of Stelco under the Investment Canada Act. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the layoffs went against conditions the government set when it approved the sale.
Joly also said Cleveland-Cliffs was put on notice last month to address alleged violations of its commitments under the approval process, including employment guarantees, or face potential legal action. The government was also consulting its lawyers regarding remarks by Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves suggesting he bought Stelco to protect the company’s U.S. operations from Canadian competition.
The minister warned that Cleveland-Cliffs could be forced to sell Stelco if it failed to meet its binding commitments.
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