Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. must stick to the employment pledges it made when acquiring Stelco, calling any failure to do so a serious misstep.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Carney stopped short of saying whether Ottawa might compel the U.S. steelmaker to sell Stelco. He noted only that a legal review remains underway.
The warning arrives as Ottawa turns up the heat on the company over recent job cuts. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly sent a fresh letter dismissing Cleveland-Cliffs’ latest compliance filing as nowhere near adequate. She demanded the immediate reinstatement of laid-off workers before agreeing to meet with chief executive Lourenco Goncalves.
Cleveland-Cliffs, headquartered in Ohio, purchased Stelco in 2024. Under the Investment Canada Act, the deal carried binding conditions requiring the company to preserve employment levels for unionized staff and most salaried workers over a five-year period.
Stelco disclosed on Sept. 28 that as many as 500 positions could hang in the balance. The company planned to pause finishing operations at Hamilton Works while scaling back activity at Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario. Cleveland-Cliffs currently puts the number of laid-off employees at 175.
The steelmaker blamed U.S. tariffs, softening domestic demand for Canadian steel, and pressure from imported products for the cuts.
Meanwhile, Goncalves offered a glimmer of optimism Wednesday. He said the company could bring back all 175 workers before the holiday season if a push to expand sales of Canadian-made steel within the domestic market gains traction.
