Cliffs Canadian Unit to Press Ahead With Job Cuts, Globe Says

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s Canada-based Stelco unit has informed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government that it will move ahead with hundreds of layoffs at operations near Toronto, setting the stage for a legal fight, the Globe and Mail reported.

Stelco told Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly in a letter that the planned layoffs in Hamilton and Nanticoke don’t breach undertakings Stelco agreed to in 2024 to maintain its unionized workforce, the newspaper reported Saturday.

A spokesperson for Joly confirmed receiving a letter from Stelco. The minister this week threatened legal action against Cleveland-Cliffs. Carney has called the move to cut jobs a “betrayal” of workers.

Read More: Carney Vows Legal Action Against Cleveland-Cliffs Over Cuts

Cliffs acquired Stelco in 2024 and pledged to maintain employment levels at the subsidiary, specifically promising to continue employing at least the same number of unionized workers.

The company said this week that the trade war between Canada and the US, including a 50% tariff on steel products, is a change in circumstances. The Globe reported that Stelco president and general counsel Paul Simon said the tariffs were a change in circumstance that “may necessitate the non-enforcement or renegotiation of undertakings.”