U.S. Steel Canada, formerly known as Stelco, is temporarily shutting down its Hamilton mill and closing most of its Lake Erie operations, affecting up to 2,100 jobs, the Hamilton Spectator reported yesterday.
The move is driven by slumping demand in the steel sector and is a major blow to the industrial city, which has been hurt by earlier layoffs at the company and its rival, Arcelor Mittal Dofasco.
U.S. Steel Canada has already laid off almost 700 of 1,700 hourly employees in Hamilton, where it shut down its blast furnace in November.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel acquired Stelco for more than $1 billion two years ago.
