Cleveland-Cliffs to Recall Laid-Off Workers at Canadian Steel Operation

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Cleveland-Cliffs will recall laid-off workers at its Stelco operation in Canada in response to improved customer demand.

The steelmaker said Friday it will restart finishing operations at its Hamilton plant on Lake Ontario and bring back all 175 workers who were temporarily let go after the company reached support agreements with a sufficient volume of its customers.

Cliffs had been a bitter war of words with Canada's government over the layoffs and was facing the threat of being dragged into court over accusations it wasn't living up to commitments made to secure approval for its roughly $2.4 billion acquisition of Stelco in 2024.

The company said a restart of operations will take several weeks and that as a measure of good faith to employees, it would recall the workforce, effective Dec. 1. All affected employees also will be "made whole retroactively" for the standard wages they would have received during the period they were laid off, it said.

Stelco in late September idled some Hamilton operations in response to what it said was unsustainable market conditions for its cold rolled and coated products, impacting 175 workers.

The company said it has been in contract communication with customers who want the products Stelco's Hamilton finishing facility is known for producing.

Cliffs said that customers have committed to supporting the Hamilton operations despite a lack of response from Ottawa to address shortfalls in Canada's tariff response program and what it said is a continued flood of offshore imports of galvanized products that have eroded the domestic market.

Cliffs Chairman and Chief Executive Lourenco Goncalves' strong support for President Trump's stiff Section 232 tariffs on steel imported into the U.S. has come under fire in Canada.

Federal Industry Minister Melanie Joly has repeatedly criticized Goncalves for advocating for tariffs that Cliffs had pointed to for the stresses facing Stelco.

Joly had demanded a concrete plan for Cliffs to save jobs at Stelco or risk fines or even a forced sale of its Canadian operations.

Joly's government has said Cliffs breached undertaking made to buy Stelco, including on job numbers and to advocate in tariff-free access for Canadian steel into the U.S. Cliffs has insisted it is in full compliance with each of the 34 undertakings made to the government.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2026 13:32 ET (18:32 GMT)