'It's a very volatile situation,' says CEO, with tariffs expected to have 'material and adverse impact' on company's financial position
One Ontario employer has begun laying off workers amid the ongoing trade dispute over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Steel producer Algoma Steel has laid off 20 workers, according to a report from the Toronto Star.
The layoffs came just before the Trump administration raised tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday.
Trump announced the tariffs last month and the White House said Wednesday that there would be no exceptions, according to a NBC report.
It remains unclear whether these steel and aluminum tariffs are in addition to the across-the-board 25% tariff scheduled to take effect on all Canadian imports on April 2, according to the Toronto Star.
The layoffs also preceded Trump’s Tuesday morning announcement that he would double the threatened tariffs to 50%, starting Wednesday. However, he later reversed this decision.
Half (50 per cent) of Canadian employers say they are reducing production or laying off employees in anticipation of U.S. tariffs, according to a previous KPMG report.
Worries about impact of tariffs
Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia told the Toronto Star that both the company and its employees are concerned about the financial stability of the business in light of the tariffs.
“We’re trying to reassure them that if we continue to focus on delighting our customers, finding new opportunities for our steel in Canada that, you know, we’ll see our way through. It’s a very volatile situation,” he said.
In a news statement released on Wednesday, Algoma Steel said: “The tariffs are expected to have a material and adverse impact on the company’s financial position, results of operations and liquidity; however, an estimate of the financial impact cannot be made at this time.”
About one million Canadians could lose their jobs if the US tariffs are in place for an extended period of time, an expert previously noted.
Canada’s response to Trump tariffs
Meanwhile, the United Steelworkers union (USW) has called President Donald Trump’s threat of a 50 per cent tariff “devastating”, warning that it threatens the existence of the Canadian steel industry and thousands of jobs.
“These tariffs are nothing less than a potential industry killer,” says Marty Warren, USW National Director for Canada. “It’s an economic attack on workers and our economic sovereignty. Trump’s protectionist charade is not about helping American workers but about using them as political pawns while jeopardizing jobs on both sides of the border.”
“Canadian steel and aluminum workers will not be intimidated. We are ready to fight back and we will,” says Warren.
The Canadian government also announced a dollar-for-dollar approach response to the threatened 50 per cent U.S. tariffs, saying Canada is imposing, as of 12:01 am, March 13, 2025, 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on a list of steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion, as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion, for a total of $29.8 billion.
“Canadian steel and aluminum make the U.S. stronger, and these unjustified tariffs will raise prices for everyone and threaten jobs on both sides of the border,” says Mélanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs. “Canada is united as we continue to fight to remove these harmful tariffs. By working together, Canada and the U.S. have overcome many challenges in the past and the sooner these needless tariffs are lifted, we can get back to working together to create jobs and improve the lives of workers on both sides of the border.”
Steven MacKinnon, Canada’s minister of employment, workforce development and labour, said last week that the federal government will be fighting back “ferociously “against the “unjustified” and “ill-considered” tariffs, which will hurt both Canada.
