HAMILTON -- Stelco is recalling 175 temporarily laid off workers as it plans to restart its Hamilton, Ont., finishing operations on Dec. 1. The company says the move is due to increased customer demand. Stelco parent company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. raised the ire of Ottawa when it announced the layoffs in September. The federal government said the cuts went against conditions it set when it approved the American company’s purchase of the steelmaker. Cleveland-Cliffs cited U.S. tariffs, weak demand for Canadian steel and competition from imported steel products as reasons for the cuts. However, it says it has now reached agreement with a sufficient volume of its customers to restart the operations and recall all of the laid off workers. The company noted that it will take several weeks to restart the operations, but that all affected employees will be made whole retroactively for the standard wages they would have received during the period in which they were temporarily laid off. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2026.
