‘Tariffs put the nail in the coffin:' ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada closing mill in Hamilton

Hamilton Spectator

3 days ago

ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada is closing its Hamilton wire-drawing mill — putting up to 153 local employees out of work amid Canada's
trade war with the U.S
.
In a
release
, the company announced a 'restructuring' that will consolidate all of its wire-drawing activities in Montreal, a move it said is 'necessary to ensure the sustainability' of the business.
The company, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal North America, makes semi-finished products like billets, slabs, bars and wire rod for industries like telecommunications and construction. The release did not reference the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S., or the specific
doubling of steel tariffs to 50 per cent
on imports to the U.S. just last week.
But those punishing tariffs 'put the nail in the coffin,' suggested Mike Hnatjuk, the local United Steelworkers union president for 153 workers at the mill at 690 Strathearne Ave. N.
He said some workers were already on a 'temporary' layoff implemented shortly after the first round of tariffs were announced months ago by U.S. President Donald Trump on the steel and later auto industries. 'Our plant really relies on the automotive industry,' he noted.
Hnatjuk also said the company told workers it had been losing the equivalent of $3.5 million a year for the last five years. 'They told us even without the tariffs, this maybe could have happened anyway.'
The local mill has operated since the 1950s and was once owned by Stelco and known as Stelwire before a bankruptcy prompted the sale of the mill to what is now steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal.
Many of the 153 employees — down from a high of 510 in the early 1990s — have worked at the mill for more than 30 years, including Hnatjuk, a former metallurgical department worker.
'We've been through bankruptcies and strike and all sorts of challenges,' he said. 'But even then, I never expected a closure.'
The Montreal-based company did not immediately respond to request for comment or an interview.
President Stephane Brochu said in a release the consolidation was necessary in a 'demanding wire drawing market' and that the company will 'support and assist' all workers affected by the Hamilton shutdown.
'It is never an easy decision to close a site,' he said. 'First and foremost, all our efforts are focused on supporting the employees affected by this closure.'
Hnatjuk said job losses associated with the closure are expected to be 'permanent,' although he added there may be relocation opportunities for workers willing to move to the company's Quebec operations. The union expects to start discussing such details next week as part of a 'closure agreement.'
He said local workers also have contractual language around 'preferential hiring' opportunities with other ArcelorMittal subsidiaries, including its best-known and largest local steelmaker Dofasco. 'But that doesn't mean they are guaranteed a job,' Hnatjuk said.
Canada's Industry Minister Melanie Joly visited Dofasco — a separate steelmaking facility under the ArcelorMittal umbrella — last Friday to
promise new supports are pending
for the tariff-battered industry.
More to come.