Stelco announced on Friday that it will recall all 175 employees who were temporarily laid off at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant, effective December 1, and will restart finishing operations. The company said the decision follows deals with a sufficient number of customers to justify bringing the workforce back and resuming the finishing lines.
The recall addresses the temporary layoffs that had affected the Hamilton facility. Stelco also said that all impacted employees will receive retroactive payment for the standard wages they missed during the layoff period.
Canada's steel industry, which the company noted was among the first and hardest hit by US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs, has begun to show signs of recovery. Stelco described the recovery as uneven, citing activity tied to mining, energy and AI data center projects and government support as factors helping to lift demand.
The company’s announcement raises two central operational questions the market will watch: what would confirm that the recall of 175 workers reflects durable demand, and how restart plans driven by Cleveland-Cliffs could affect Canadian steel supply.
CBC News reported in September that US-based steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs would idle some production at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant and lay off hundreds of workers, attributing the move to damage done by US tariffs. Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Stelco in 2024.
Stelco’s product range includes flat-rolled steel - coated, cold-rolled and hot-rolled products - along with pig iron and metallurgical coke. The company framed the restart of finishing operations as contingent on having secured sufficient customer commitments to sustain production.
Observers will likely monitor the pace at which finished goods orders and project-linked demand translate into sustained activity at finishing lines. Stelco’s recall and the retroactive wage payments address immediate workforce and labor-pay considerations while the broader industry recovery remains uneven.
Summary of actions
- All 175 temporarily laid-off Stelco employees at Hamilton to be recalled on December 1.
- Finishing operations at the Hamilton plant to restart after deals with enough customers were reached.
- Stelco will pay affected employees retroactively for standard wages missed during the temporary layoff.