TORONTO — Stelco Holdings will indefinitely idle cold-rolled and coated operations at Hamilton Works starting around October 9, a move United Steelworkers Local 1005 says will put 350 steelworkers out of work as the company concentrates production at its Lake Erie plant in Nanticoke.The company told employees and customers Monday that the finishing lines will begin winding down in the coming weeks and that as many as 500 workers at Hamilton and Lake Erie Works could be affected. Stelco vice-president of sales Frederic Fafard called the shutdown “an unfortunate but necessary action to help ensure the survival of Stelco” in a market for cold-rolled and coated products he described as unsustainable after sustained US trade measures.US President Donald Trump’s Section 232 tariffs — up to 50% on certain Canadian steel and aluminum imports — have shrunk the market Stelco sells into. By the second quarter of 2026, demand for the products traditionally finished at Hamilton had fallen nearly 25% from the 2024 quarterly average, and Canadian demand was down about 10% as Stelco’s own customers faced the same trade shock..“Import volumes remain at levels that prevent Stelco from being able to bridge the gap in the market created by the trade crisis,” the internal memo obtained by CBC News said. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the US steelmaker that bought Stelco in a $3.4-billion deal in 2024, confirmed through spokesperson Pat Persico that overall steel tonnage will not drop, only the product mix, with more output shifted to hot-rolled coil at Nanticoke.Job offers at Lake Erie Works will go to affected Hamilton employees, and the company said it expects a “significant number” to be absorbed there. Local 1005 president Ron Wells told CBC the union still has to sit down on seniority and that workers have no idea how long the idle will last.“Christmas ain’t that far away, and we have no idea the duration of these layoffs,” Wells said. “People are concerned. I don’t blame them.”Premier Doug Ford last year accused Cliffs leadership of “signing away” Canadian steel and backing Trump’s tariff agenda, telling reporters, “I love the workers, but their owner … I got a problem with that guy.” Queen’s Park has spent the tariff fight pitching Buy Ontario procurement and counter-measures while factories from Windsor to Hamilton wait on 2027 auto and steel duty threats.
