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Algoma Steel says it has issued 1,000 layoff notices to workers at its plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
“As part of the closure of its blast furnace and coke making operations, Algoma has made the difficult decision to issue approximately 1,000 layoff notices today, effective in 16 weeks on March 23, 2026,” reads an emailed statement from the company.
“This transition 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 goes on to say that “unprecedented tariffs imposed by the United States” has “fundamentally altered the competitive landscape.”
Some layoffs were already expected as the steel mill shuts its blast furnce and coke-making operations and transitions to an electric arc furnace early in 2026, about a year earlier than first planned.
Algoma Steel recently received $500 million in government loans to protect jobs in the face of U.S. tariffs.
Mike Da Prat, the president of United Steelworkers Local 2251, says that 900 of his members have been issued layoff notices. (Erik White/CBC)
Mike Da Prat, the union president representing the majority of the 2,800 workers at Algoma Steel, said that 900 of his members were issued layoff notices Monday.
But the long-time leader of United Steelworkers Local 2251 says that he’s not yet certain about how “permanent” the job cuts are, as he and his team are “finding some errors in the list” and “getting phone calls” from concerned members.
Da Prat said its been clear since the 2022 contract talks that there were going to be hundreds of job cuts related to the switching to an electric arc furnace, but said the union and the company have been working on “mitigation strategies,” including a trades helper program for displaced workers.
“Obviously it’s going to be a reduced manufacturing industry for Sault Ste. Marie. No doubt about that,” he said of the layoffs covering one third of the Algoma Steel workforce.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be enough jobs in northern Ontario to absorb.”
