Stelco owner hopes to recall laid-off workers before Christmas if Canadian sales rise

OTTAWA — Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said Wednesday he hopes to bring back laid-off Stelco workers before Christmas if a plan to increase Canadian sales succeeds.

In a written statement to The Canadian Press, Goncalves said the company is now counting on increased purchases of Canadian-made steel rather than tighter import restrictions to restore jobs at its Ontario operations.

“It will depend on Canadian customers buying Canadian steel, made by Stelco,” he said. “If our plan works, my intention is to call back all the 175 workers before Christmas.”

Goncalves said the number of layoffs “was never 500,” despite an internal Stelco letter to employees on Sept. 28 warning that up to 500 workers at Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont., could be affected.

Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, which represents workers at Stelco’s Hamilton plant, confirmed that 175 workers have been laid off in Hamilton, while no layoffs have yet taken place at Lake Erie Works.

He accused Cleveland-Cliffs of using the layoffs to pressure Ottawa into tightening restrictions on foreign steel imports.

“He just caused a lot of pain and grief for 175 people,” Wells said. “Obviously, we’re against using our members as pawns.”

The steelmaker has cited U.S. tariffs, weak demand for Canadian steel and competition from imported steel products as reason for the layoffs.

The announcement came roughly two years after Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Stelco in 2024. As a condition of Ottawa’s approval of the deal, the company agreed to maintain minimum employment levels and meet other commitments.

“We believed that we could sell cold rolled and galvanized steel within the Canadian domestic market, and that part did not materialize and has not improved yet,” Goncalves said in the statement.

He said since Ottawa is unwilling to further restrict imports of cold-rolled and galvanized steel, Stelco will have to rely on its own efforts and Canadian customers to restore sales, production and jobs.

Meanwhile, he also said Stelco will not be sold for at least the next year.

“I will not talk to any buyers, real or imaginary, now or within the next calendar year,” Goncalves said. “Conversely, after we demonstrate one year of higher production numbers, and also have brought all the 175 workers back to their jobs, I will be glad to sell the company, and only if I decide to do so by then.”

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has warned that Cleveland-Cliffs could be forced to sell Stelco if it fails to meet binding commitments made when it acquired the Canadian steelmaker in 2024.

Goncalves said Joly is discouraging foreign investment in Canada by publicly discussing potential buyers for Stelco and criticizing the company’s business decisions.

“If I knew — or even suspected — that I would be subjected to this type of treatment when I made a business decision within the boundaries of undertakings that I am in full compliance (with), I certainly would not have invested in Canada,” he said.

The dispute has escalated in recent weeks, with Joly accusing Cleveland-Cliffs of violating commitments made under the Investment Canada Act to protect Canadian jobs and support the country’s steel industry. Goncalves insists the company has met its obligations.

Joly has threatened court action that could require Cleveland-Cliffs to meet its commitments, pay penalties of up to $10,000 a day or sell Stelco.

The two have also clashed over U.S. tariffs, which Goncalves has supported and Ottawa says have hurt Canadian steelworkers and contributed to the layoffs.

“They cannot champion and take credit for American tariffs that are hurting workers both sides of the border and then turn around and say that the market conditions are changed,” Joly said recently.

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too, that’s not possible.”

Goncalves has asked to meet with Joly to discuss the layoffs. The minister has said the company needs to present a concrete plan and timeline to bring workers back before agreeing to talks.

It’s unclear whether Goncalves’ plan to boost Canadian sales and recall workers before Christmas will be enough to meet Joly’s conditions for agreeing to a meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2026.

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press