Cleveland-Cliffs set to layoff 630 steelworkers at Minorca, Hibbing Taconite
The Hull Rust Mine View in Hibbing that overlooks Hibbing Taconite. Photo by Jerry Burnes/Iron Range Today.
Republished with permission from Iron Range Today.
Cleveland-Cliffs issued layoff notices to 630 employees as it plans to temporarily idle its Minorca mine and Hibbing Taconite, the company confirmed Thursday. State Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, first announced the layoffs earlier in the day.
Cliffs did not specify how many jobs at each site would be impacted, but a press release from Hauschild indicated 340 at Minorca and 250 at HibTac. Chris Johnson, president of the United Steelworkers Local 2705 representing HibTac, said the number of union employees was 'roughly 240.'
About 42 salaried employees and 300 bargaining unit employees are expected to be impacted at Minorca in Virginia.
In a letter to the union, obtained by Iron Range Today, the company said 230 bargaining unit employees would be laid off by May 20, 2025, or within two weeks after that time. Others could be laid off earlier 'depending on business needs' and would remain on active status to receive full salary and benefits until May 20.
'While we anticipate these layoffs will be temporary, we cannot predict their length, which may exceed six months,' wrote Robert H. Fischer, executive vice president of human resources and labor relations, in the letter.
Overall economic factors, especially around the automobile industry, are playing the biggest factor in the move. Cliffs reported $400 million in losses in the fourth quarter of 2024, citing the automotive woes. The majority of pellets produced at Iron Range mines help feed that industry its steel supply.
A full idle is planned at Minorca and a partial idle for HibTac. Johnson said the plant will shut down two of its three furnaces and produce minimal tonnage, with about half its employees.
'These temporary idles are necessary to re-balance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory produced in 2024,' the company said in a statement. '630 employees will be impacted following the completion of the 60-day WARN period. We remain committed to supporting our employees and communities while monitoring market conditions.'
The bigger concern around HibTac is the mine's looming ore shortage. It's been estimated it will run out of ore to mine by 2026 in the more optimistic forecasts. Johnson said the partial idle will help expand the overall mine life, but the long-term picture is unclear.
'Our worry is if this is what we're going to look like until we get our ore reserves?' he said. 'Are those 240 people coming back? We know the company can't really give us an answer.'
The economic impact of mine closures or idles, and layoffs, have had ripple effects across Iron Range communities in the past.
Anything permanent at HibTac is expected to have strong reverberations around the cities of Hibbing and Chisholm, but Johnson said this round of layoffs will have impacts Range-wide. It's unclear if similar steps could be taken at other mines in the region.
Beyond the economy, the production tax formula that distributes funds to counties, cities and schools on a three-year rolling average would be increasingly impacted if idles were prolonged.
Johnson said employees have been offered a chance to transfer within Cliffs, but with Minorca idling and the uncertain economic landscape, local mines would unlikely be able to absorb everyone. Relocation is an option, he added, but a lot of members don't want to move their families.
'Everyone suffers — from the gas stations to the grocery stores and restaurants, everyone suffers,' he said. 'Until the auto industry and the economy turn around, it's gonna hurt.'
Ore reserves for the mine are in different stages of possibilities today. Land leased to Cliffs at the former Butler Taconite site near Nashwauk are the source of a legal battle between the company and Mesabi Metallics, who so far has seen favorable court rulings in its efforts to evict Cliffs.
State mineral leases at the same site were awarded to Cliffs in 2023, and the company owns mineral rights on land around those pieces, but mining there likely meant a temporary idle period for HibTac.
Major costs and additional permitting scuttled a plan to transfer ore from United Taconite for processing at Hibbing Tacontie. Land bordering HibTac, known collectively as the Carmi-Campbell, is owned by Cliffs' bitter rival U.S. Steel, and their recent dust ups make for slim chances of a land swap.
'This is difficult news for our Steelworkers, their families, and our entire Iron Range community,' Hauschild said. 'Mining isn't just an industry here — it's our way of life … when our Steelworkers hurt, we all hurt.'
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