Profits Up, Payroll Down: The Bitter Irony at Stelco

There is a particular kind of cruelty in being told your job is no longer necessary while your boss brags about how great business is. For the workers at Stelco, as first reported by CBC, that is the current reality.

According to reporting from CBC, Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of U.S.-based Cleveland-Cliffs, recently declared that Stelco's third quarter of this year was the "strongest" since the company was acquired in 2024. Goncalves didn't stop there; he claimed the company is operating under the "best price environment in three years," describing it as the exact kind of pricing needed to run a thriving business that reinvests in equipment and pays workers well.

But if the business is thriving, why are the workers being gutted?

While Goncalves celebrates these record-setting results, layoff notices have been rolling out across Ontario. Ron Wells, who leads United Steelworkers Local 1005, told CBC that 333 positions in Hamilton are expected to be cut. Meanwhile, John McElroy, president of USW Local 8782, indicated that the Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke could see up to 50 layoffs.

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**OPINION: The Corporate Gaslight**

It is a slap in the face to Ontario workers to be told that the company must idle plants to "ensure survival"—as Stelco Holdings Inc. claimed on Sept. 28—while the CEO simultaneously touts the strongest quarter in years. This is corporate gaslighting at its finest. Goncalves is praising the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump for creating conditions for investment, yet he is overseeing the removal of hundreds of loyal employees from the payroll.

As Ron Wells pointed out to CBC, these are dedicated employees who sacrificed holidays and family milestones for a company that is now treating them as disposable, despite the profitability of the third quarter. To claim the business is "thriving" while shutting down the cold-rolled and coated steel departments is a contradiction that insults the intelligence of the workforce.

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Cleveland-Cliffs attempts to frame these layoffs as a "temporary measure" pending a trade agreement between Canada and the U.S., citing the squeeze of U.S. tariffs. Goncalves has even suggested he would bring back the laid-off workers if the Canadian government reduces the import of galvanized steel.

However, the federal government isn't buying the narrative. Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly stated that Cleveland-Cliffs's purchase of Stelco came with promises to maintain the same number of unionized employees and the vast majority of non-unionized staff from 2024 through 2029. Joly emphasized that a "business decision" cannot be used as an excuse to ignore these commitments.

Ottawa is currently considering various legal paths under Section 40 of the Investment Canada Act. According to CBC, these options could include financial penalties, court orders to force compliance, or an order requiring Cleveland-Cliffs to sell its Canadian assets. Joly noted that "everything is on the table."

For the workers in Hamilton and Nanticoke, the legal battle is cold comfort. They are left wondering why a company celebrating its strongest quarter since acquisition thinks the best way to maintain that strength is by firing the people who built it.