Joly warns Cleveland-Cliffs over up to 500 Stelco layoffs in Hamilton and Nanticoke

Summary

Cleveland-Cliffs plans to idle the cold-rolled and coated lines at Stelco's Hamilton Works indefinitely and lay off up to 500 workers across Hamilton and Nanticoke, blaming the trade war. The union puts the count near 350, and the wind-down starts October 9. Industry Minister Melanie Joly rejects the company's "act of God" argument, pointing out that its chief executive has backed American steel tariffs. She says the 2024 purchase came with binding Investment Canada Act commitments covering more than 1,500 jobs.

Joly has sent a letter demanding a plan that shows how the company will honour every undertaking, and she has warned that Ottawa will use "the full force of the law" if it does not comply. She says the auto-sector layoffs are different because this company made legally binding employment commitments. The video recalls that Ottawa took U.S. Steel to Federal Court over the same Hamilton plant in 2009.

The video casts the dispute as a test of whether a foreign owner's promise holds when trade politics shift, and as middle-power policy applied to one factory. The company argues that selling freely into the American market was a condition of the 2024 deal and plans to resolve it in court.

Key points

• Up to 500 Stelco jobs are at risk in Hamilton and Nanticoke; the union's count is around 350.
• Wind-down of the Hamilton cold-rolled and coated lines starts October 9.
• Commitments made when Cleveland-Cliffs bought Stelco in 2024 cover more than 1,500 jobs.
• Joly says that if the company does not comply, Ottawa will use "the full force of the law."
• In 2009, U.S. Steel shut its Hamilton plant and most of Lake Erie; Ottawa sought penalties of up to $10,000 a day in Federal Court.
• The 2011 settlement required production until 2015, $50M+ in new investment, and $3M for community programs.

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