The key decision maker behind the mass layoffs at a century-old steel mill in Hamilton says “no amount of money” from the federal government would have convinced Stelco to continue manufacturing product with low demand in Canada.
On Monday, Stelco, which is owned by U.S.-based steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, announced it would lay off roughly 350 employees and offer them positions at a nearby steel mill instead, as the company pauses production of galvanized steel.
The move was met with a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said the company “betrayed” Canadian workers and insisted “there’s money on the table” to keep employees on the job.
In an exclusive interview with Global News, Lourenco Goncalves, the chairman and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, said the company’s decision was purely market-driven and that financial incentives could not fix the fundamental issues.
“I’m not shutting down, I’m not dismantling,” Goncalves said during a 10-minute phone call. “There’s no market in Canada for the amount of galvanized steel we produce in Canada. We need to export… to the United States.”
“Until we reestablish that, there’s nothing we can do, nothing.”
Sources with knowledge of the high-level discussions between Goncalves and Ottawa said the federal government “tried everything” to convince Stelco to delay the layoffs, including short-term bridge financing, longer-term loans, retrofitting and access to new markets in Canada.
One source described it as the “most gratuitous terms to try and keep people employed longer,” but Goncalves “refused” the offers and expected something bigger.
“He quite literally said ‘nope,’ we don’t want your help unless it’s a blank cheque to the tune of billions with no conditions,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks.
Goncalves vehemently pushed back against the assertion.
“That’s not true. That’s a completely untruthful statement. I did not ask for a blank cheque to the tune of billions with no conditions, that’s absolutely wrong,” Goncalves told Global News.
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Goncalves said while the majority of his discussions were with a senior cabinet minister in the federal government, they did not rise to the level of the Prime Minister’s Office, despite his desire to escalate the conversation.
“I have never met Prime Minister Mark Carney. I tried to get to Prime Minister Mark Carney, but he never really talked to me.”
Despite his prior support of the Trump administration’s tariffs – and the federal government’s quiet belief, according to sources, that his relationship and donation record was a motivating factor – Goncalves insists the cut in production has little to do with his ties to the White House.
“I have been in this business for 45 years, so I have worked with so many different persons, Republicans and Democrats. Trump, then Biden, then Trump,” Goncalves said.
“That’s a fallacy, that’s absurd.”
Instead, Goncalves insists he shares the vision of a more integrated economy pushed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the federal government.
“I have been trying for too long to implement what’s called Fortress North America to create the preconditions to re-establish a bridge between United States and Canada. But I have been unable to convince the Canadian government on what to do,” Goncalves said.
While Goncalves declined to wade into specific conversations he had with the federal government, his own assessment of the current situation appears to lay heavy blame on Canada, while downplaying the impact of Trump’s tariff war.
“I need an ability to sell more galvanized steel. I can’t increase the domestic market in Canada. I cannot afford to block imports. But even if they shut down imports of galvanized completely – 100 per cent – we still have more production of galvanized steel in Canada than the domestic markets of Canada.”
“So there’s only one solution. We need to be able to export.”
Goncalves stressed that while Stelco is pausing some of the production at its facility in Hamilton, the decision is “not permanent” because the company is waiting for the market to “resolve itself.”
“Stelco will continue to produce the same amount of steel. I will concentrate on hot-rolled steel, because there’s no market for galvanized steel,” Goncalves told Global News.
Goncalves said without the ability to export to the United States at the current tariff rates, his “temporary solution” is to concentrate on products that still make the company money and “wait until the situation normalizes.”
While that could take two years – or longer – Goncalves said the company is committing to boost employment, once the trade war settles, allowing the company to export Canadian-made steel.
“Let’s assume that we were able to produce galvanized steel again. What am I going to do? Re-hire everybody and go back to produce galvanized steel.”