HAMILTON, Ont. – Stelco will lay off 350 workers at its Hamilton plant beginning Oct. 9, the United Steelworkers Local 1005 said Monday, as the steelmaker idles finishing operations and shifts production to its Lake Erie Works facility in Haldimand County, Ont.
The union confirmed the cuts, according to reports from CP24 and BNN Bloomberg. Stelco has said the Hamilton Works finishing operations are being idled while steel production is concentrated at Lake Erie Works.
Global News reported that the company’s own figures point to a larger number of affected production staff, about 500, while union local president Ron Wells put the layoffs closer to 350. The discrepancy has not been explained in the reports reviewed.
“It’s extremely devastating,” Wells told Global News. He said the cold-mill and coated departments are affected. “So they’re telling us they can’t make money in the current conditions,” Wells said.
In a statement, Stelco said “job opportunities at Lake Erie Works will be offered to Hamilton employees.” The company said it expects “a significant number” of affected workers to be absorbed there. It also said overall steel production volume will remain unchanged, with a higher concentration of hot-rolled steel products.
Stelco is owned by Cleveland-Cliffs, the U.S.-based steelmaker that acquired it in 2024 for $3.4 billion, according to BNN Bloomberg. The layoffs come as Canadian steel producers face U.S. tariffs of up to 50 per cent. In July, Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco Goncalves said “the future competitiveness of our galvanizing lines in Hamilton is at risk” without additional trade protections, BNN Bloomberg reported.
Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development said the province will “use every tool we have to help affected workers,” according to CP24. The province’s measures include a 50 per cent funding increase for enhanced services at Hamilton’s POWER Centre, an expanded Protect Ontario Financing Program, the Ontario Together Trade Fund for tariff-affected businesses, and a “Buy Ontario” procurement emphasis on Ontario steel.
Political reaction followed quickly. Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Ned Kuruc called the impact “devastating,” Global News reported. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney’s response and called for stronger action, the outlet said. Political analyst Eric Ham told BNN Bloomberg the layoffs represent what “the president wanted.”
The dispute over the company’s stance on U.S. trade policy has a history in Ontario. BNN Bloomberg noted that Premier Doug Ford previously criticized the chairman of Stelco over his support for U.S. tariffs, saying in August of last year, “I got a problem with that guy.”
Hamilton has been the centre of Canadian steelmaking for more than a century, and Stelco’s plants have long been among the city’s largest industrial employers. Any reduction at the Hamilton site is therefore watched closely by workers, local businesses and municipal officials.
Whether the transfers to Lake Erie Works will offset the cuts remains unclear. Neither the company nor the union has said how many positions will be offered at Haldimand County, what they will pay, or how many Hamilton workers are expected to accept given the distance between the two sites. Details on severance and benefit continuation were also not included in the reports reviewed.
The layoffs are scheduled to begin Oct. 9. The union has not said whether it will pursue further talks with Stelco or Ottawa over the plant’s future.
