Stelco has told Ottawa the layoffs of up to 500 workers will go forward and that it isn’t breaching its Investment Canada Act commitments, according to a response letter obtained by CBC. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Saturday that “all options are on the table” as government lawyers study the response.
The letter calls the breach claim false and blames outside forces, including 50% US tariffs, for Stelco’s situation. Joly’s statement says Stelco must still honor its job commitments under the Investment Canada Act, whatever changes in its strategy or the market.
Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday that he’s ready to defend the layoffs in court. He says the 2024 agreement doesn’t oblige him to maintain a fixed headcount throughout its five-year term. He calls the layoffs temporary and says the jobs will return once the two countries strike a trade deal.
On a possible sale, Goncalves said, “For a good offer, yes.” He also endorses the US Section 232 steel tariffs, the same measures Stelco points to as it cuts jobs. Joly argued last week that the company can’t treat tariff-driven cuts as beyond its control while its CEO publicly supports the tariffs.
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Ottawa approved the takeover in October 2024 after Cleveland-Cliffs accepted five years of binding undertakings. They require union headcount at or above its level when the deal was announced and nearly all non-union staff retained. Joly has said Ottawa could ask a superior court judge to compel compliance, levy penalties or force Cleveland-Cliffs to sell.
The first layoffs began over the weekend. Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, expects 300 to 350 Hamilton workers to lose their jobs over three weeks, with more cuts at Nanticoke’s Lake Erie Works. He wants Ottawa to make an example of the company. Laid-off employee Jordan Williams asked Goncalves to spell out in writing what lies ahead for the plant’s cold-rolled and coated lines.
Ottawa hasn’t said which step it will take or when. Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to use every power available against the company.
Read: Cleveland-Cliffs Gets Five Business Days To Back Stelco Job Pledges Or Risk A Court-Ordered Sale
