Stelco begins issuing layoff notices as first job cuts set to take effect Sunday

Stelco Holdings Inc. has started handing out layoff notices at its Hamilton, Ont., steel plant, the first in a wave of job cuts expected to unfold over three weeks as the company moves ahead with plans to lay off up to 500 workers.

Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers local 1005, said some workers received notices Wednesday telling them not to return for their next scheduled shift.

About 90 workers are expected to receive notices this week, with the first layoffs taking effect Sunday, he said.

“They’re doing it in stages because they have to winterize the place and take the operations down so you can start it back up when the orders come back,” said Wells, who has worked at the steel mill for 47 years and represents workers at the Hamilton plant.

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“There’s still steel being rolled and it’s supposed to be done sometime today … and then they have to ship the stuff out,” he said. “That’s why it takes a few weeks to do this wind down.”

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The layoffs at the Hamilton plant are expected to affect roughly 330 workers, with additional cuts expected among co-op workers and employees at the pickling operations at Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont., he said.

Wells said the layoffs are affecting unionized workers, while salaried employees have so far been spared.

“They’re not being touched and we’re taking the brunt of the hit,” he said.

The company is describing the cuts as indefinite layoffs, while the union is treating them as temporary under its collective agreement, Wells said.

Stelco, which is owned by U.S.-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., announced last week plans to cut up to 500 workers across its Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities, citing the ongoing trade crisis, weak demand and continued import pressure.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has threatened legal action against Cleveland-Cliffs if it fails to provide a plan outlining how it will honour the job commitments made when it acquired Stelco in 2024.