Sherritt to lay off 280 workers at Alberta refinery

Sherritt International Corp. said Wednesday it will temporarily lay off about 280 employees, or 47 per cent of its Canadian workforce, while it works toward restarting its idled nickel and cobalt refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.

The Toronto-based company said in a news release that the layoffs are expected to last about 90 days, though employees may be recalled sooner depending on operating needs. The Canadian Press reported the cuts are meant to conserve cash while the refinery remains without a firm restart date.

Sherritt stopped refining metals at the plant on June 22 after the feed it relies on from the Moa mine in Cuba ran out. The company said at the time the refinery would stay shut until the supply of feed could be rebuilt, and it has not said when that will happen.

Sherritt said ammonia fertilizer and sulphuric acid production and sales will continue during the layoff period, along with necessary maintenance and environmental protection and safety work at the site.

Reports on the announcement said the company has received the first of a series of emergency licences from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers American sanctions. Sherritt suspended its direct participation in its Cuban joint venture in May after Washington widened sanctions on companies doing business on the island, according to the same coverage. The company said it remains focused on restoring its role as a nickel and cobalt producer within North America’s critical minerals supply chain.

The layoffs land on a plant that sits at the end of a supply line running through one of the most heavily sanctioned economies in the Western Hemisphere. Canada News Media has followed the pressure on Cuba, including the U.S. seizure of Cuba-bound fuel shipments and the island’s deepening blackouts under a U.S. oil blockade. The same pressure now reaches an Alberta industrial town, where the workers affected are Canadian employees of a Canadian-listed company.

Sherritt has not said which roles or shifts are affected beyond the 280 figure, and has not given a restart timeline. Workers temporarily laid off generally remain employees of the company during the period and can be recalled, although the terms depend on each person’s contract or collective agreement. Neither the company’s release nor the wire coverage addressed severance or benefits.

Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton, is part of Alberta’s industrial heartland, where the refinery has been a major employer for decades. The 90-day window would run into early February 2027 if it starts now, though the company said the length depends on how quickly the refinery can restart.

Canada News Media will update this story if Sherritt, the union or the Alberta government provides more detail on who is affected and when the plant could reopen.

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