Cleveland-Cliffs Claims Full Compliance on Stelco, Seeks Meeting With Joly

Cleveland-Cliffs says it has honoured all 34 of its commitments under the Investment Canada Act, pushing back against Ottawa's 15-day ultimatum to reverse layoffs at Stelco. The company issued its defence Tuesday morning. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly had set the deadline last week before turning to the courts.

The Ohio-based parent of the Hamilton steelmaker said that after "an exhaustive review of its compliance with each of its 34 undertakings," it determined it is in "full compliance" with the obligations made when it bought Stelco in 2024.

"Stelco's performance exceeds the commitments that were made at the time of the acquisition. This includes the employment undertakings," the company said in its release.

What does the dispute actually turn on?

The fight centers on jobs. Cleveland-Cliffs announced late last month that it plans to lay off as many as 500 workers as it idles certain steel production at Stelco. The company said the cuts will help "ensure the survival" of the business as U.S. tariffs on steel squeeze its sales.

Union leaders have put precise numbers on the damage:

• Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, told CBC that 333 layoffs are expected in Hamilton.
• John McElroy, president of USW Local 8782, said up to 50 layoffs are expected at the Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke.

Cleveland-Cliffs says it has asked for a meeting between Joly and chair-CEO Lourenco Goncalves "to discuss a path toward resuming full employment of the 175 workers in Hamilton who have been temporarily laid off." The release noted that "notwithstanding her publicly stated willingness to sit down, the minister has not yet responded to this request."

Joly, heading into a cabinet meeting Tuesday, said she's "always willing to sit down" with the company. Her first condition: "a plan to bring back the jobs."

"The position of the government is clear. And we have a very strong case," Joly said.

A 'double violation,' according to Ottawa

Joly received the company's response late Monday night. It answered her letter from Thursday, which stated that Cleveland-Cliffs is violating its commitments under the Investment Canada Act (the law governing foreign takeovers of Canadian companies).

She accused the company of breaching undertakings on two fronts.

"Stelco CEOs and Cleveland Cliffs CEOs have not respected their undertakings. Not only have they not kept the job numbers, but at the same time, they had a clear commitment to make sure that they would be advocating in favour of tariff-free access of Canadian steel through the U.S. And they've done completely the contrary, and so that is why also we think that there is a double violation of undertakings," Joly said Tuesday.

She also rejected the company's argument that market conditions justify the layoffs. "Let me be clear: no act of God or change in market conditions can relieve Cleveland-Cliffs of the commitments it made to Canada. Those commitments are not optional," Joly said in her statement.

Record results complicate the layoff narrative

The dispute lands amid strong financials. Cleveland-Cliffs said last week that Stelco's third quarter this year was its "strongest" since the acquisition.

"Third quarter was Stelco's strongest ... since we acquired the company two years ago. The Canadian hot-rolled market has improved substantially," Goncalves said in a statement on Oct. 19.

That performance cuts against the layoff rationale, at least in the union's reading. Wells asked pointedly: "If they're profitable, why'd he shut down our [cold-rolled] and coated [steel] departments?"

On an Oct. 19 earnings call, Goncalves praised U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, saying they are "helping create the conditions needed for companies like ours to continue investing in [local] communities and expanding domestic production." That endorsement sits awkwardly beside Stelco's own citation of tariffs as a key reason for its economic struggles.

Goncalves said Tuesday that the company wants "to find a solution for Hamilton and its workers as soon as possible and believes common sense trade policy will make this a reality."

For the roughly 500 workers facing layoffs, the stakes are concrete: whether Ottawa can legally force an American owner to reverse cuts it insists are commercially necessary. Stelco says it will update its compliance report after the current reporting period closes on Oct. 31, a filing that could shape Joly's next move before the 15-day clock runs out.