Carney accuses Stelco owner of betraying workers after tariff-linked layoffs

Mark Carney accused Stelco's US owner of betraying workers after announcing tariff-linked layoffs. The clash raises legal and political stakes around takeover job commitments and the Canada-US steel dispute.

In Short

• Up to 500 jobs face impact as Hamilton finishing lines shut indefinitely
• Production will shift from Hamilton to Stelco's Lake Erie site in Nanticoke
• The company said US tariffs cut demand for cold-rolled and galvanised steel

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday accused Stelco's US owner, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs, of betraying Canadian workers after the steelmaker announced layoffs linked in part to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Carney also threatened legal action, saying the Ohio-based company has binding employment obligations tied to its takeover of Stelco last year.

Stelco said up to 500 workers could be affected as it indefinitely idles cold-rolled and coated operations at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant and shifts production to its Lake Erie facility in Nanticoke. The announcement comes as trade tensions between Canada and the United States deepen, with Washington imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and other goods, and Ottawa responding with tariffs of its own.

Carney directly criticised Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco Goncalves, noting that he had publicly backed Trump's steel tariffs. Goncalves has called the 50 per cent tariffs "a necessary step" to protect US steelmakers. "Our thoughts are with the workers and the families who have been betrayed by the company," Carney said, adding that he wanted to be blunt.

In a memo to employees, Stelco said US tariffs had "significantly shrunk the market" for its cold-rolled and galvanised products. The company said demand in markets it traditionally serves fell nearly 25 per cent in the second quarter compared with the 2024 quarterly average, including a 10 per cent decline in Canada.

Carney said the federal government had offered financial assistance to preserve jobs, though he did not disclose the amount or the terms. "There's money on the table from the federal government," he said. "The company made representations and has legal obligations for employment. We intend to use all powers that we have and pursue them to the fullest extent of the law." The Canadian government had approved Cleveland-Cliffs' CAD 3.4 billion takeover of Stelco in October 2024 on the condition that it meet legally binding five-year employment commitments, including maintaining at least the same number of unionised workers and the vast majority of non-union employees.

The layoffs were announced a day after Trump, at a White House event on a new USD 15 billion steel plant in Iowa, said his tariffs had reduced foreign steel imports and drawn investment into the United States, adding that companies were building plants there "because they don't want to pay tariffs". Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Carney's remarks, as the dispute sharpened around the future of Stelco's workforce and the company's takeover commitments.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends