Northern Ontario steel mill issues layoff notice to 1,000 workers

Algoma Steel says it has issued layoff notices to 1,000 workers at its plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

“As part of the closure of its blast furnace and coke making operations, Algoma has today made the difficult decision to issue approximately 1,000 layoff notices, effective 16 weeks to March 23, 2026,” the company said in an emailed statement.

“This change is necessary to protect Algoma’s future in the face of these extraordinary and external market forces, and we will continue to advocate for a competitive and fair trading environment for Canadian steel.”

The statement further said that the “unprecedented tariffs imposed by the United States” have “fundamentally changed the competitive landscape.”

Some layoffs were already anticipated as the steel mill closed its blast furnace and coke-making operations and transitioned to electric arc furnaces in early 2026, about a year earlier than first planned.

Algoma Steel recently received $500 million in government loans to protect jobs in the face of US tariffs.

Mike Da Prat, the union president that represents most of Algoma Steel’s 2,800 workers, said 900 of his members were issued layoff notices on Monday.

But the longtime leader of United Steelworkers Local 2251 says he’s not sure yet how “permanent” the job cuts are, because he and his team are “finding some errors in the list” and “getting phone calls” from concerned members.

Da Prat said it has been clear since the 2022 contract negotiations that hundreds of jobs related to the switch to electric arc furnaces are going to be cut, but said the union and the company are working on “mitigation strategies,” including a Trade Helper program for displaced workers.

“Obviously it’s going to be one less manufacturing industry for Sault Ste Marie. There’s no doubt about that,” he said of the layoffs covering one-third of the Algoma Steel workforce.

“I don’t know if there will be enough jobs in Northern Ontario to absorb.”