On December 1, 2025, Algoma Steel confirmed that it will lay off approximately 1,000 employees effective March 23, 2026, as it permanently shuts down its blast furnace and coke-making operations and accelerates its transition to Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking (CBC News). According to Algoma, unprecedented US tariffs have severely restricted access to its most important export market and “fundamentally altered” the company’s competitive position, forcing the transition to happen one year earlier than originally planned (CTV News).
Laura Devoni, Algoma Steel’s Vice-President of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, confirmed that the company has been “significantly impacted” by US tariffs and that the blast furnace closure is necessary for long-term viability. She described the restructuring as driven by “extraordinary and external market forces,” acknowledging how “unsettling this news is for our employees, their families, and the broader Sault Ste. Marie community.”
Union leaders say the layoffs were...
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