Cleveland-Cliffs will recall all 175 laid-off workers at its Stelco unit in Hamilton, Ontario, on December 1, ending a two-month dispute with the Canadian government that carried the threat of forced divestiture. The steelmaker announced the decision on Friday.

Stelco will make up the regular pay the workers missed during the layoff period, the company said. The recall follows agreements with enough customers to restart Hamilton finishing operations, a process the company expects to take several weeks. Cleveland-Cliffs described the move as a show of good faith toward employees.

What does the recall resolve?

The dispute traces to September, when Prime Minister Mark Carney threatened legal action against Cleveland-Cliffs after the company announced layoffs at the Hamilton plant. Carney pointed to employment commitments the company accepted as a condition of its C$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion) acquisition of Stelco in 2024.

Those terms, as the company described them, required Cleveland-Cliffs to keep unionized headcount no lower than its level at the time of acquisition and to retain most salaried staff for five years — a commitment running to 2029.

In October, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly escalated the pressure. She set a 15-day deadline for the company to remedy alleged breaches of those job commitments. The alternative was a possible court fight that could have ended in fines or an order to sell Stelco outright, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the resolution.

How did the layoffs unfold?

Stelco said in September it would idle cold-rolled and coated operations at the Hamilton plant, with up to 500 workers potentially affected. On Friday, the company said the idling had in fact affected 175 employees — all of whom will now return on December 1 with back pay for the layoff period.

Why did customers step in?

Cleveland-Cliffs said its customers pledged to back the Hamilton operations even though, in the company's view, Ottawa has not remedied gaps in the relief program designed to offset tariffs. The company also cited continued imports of galvanized products, which it said have eroded the domestic market.

The restart timeline is measured in weeks, not days, meaning the finishing operations will ramp back toward full output gradually after the December 1 recall.

Stelco President Paul Simon credited both buyers and staff for the outcome. "I would like to thank our valued customers for the faith they have placed in us, and our workers for the patience and resilience they have continued to demonstrate during this challenging period," Simon said in a statement.

For Cleveland-Cliffs, the recall removes the immediate legal exposure tied to the 2024 acquisition terms while leaving its broader grievances — over tariff relief design and galvanized imports — on the record. For the 175 Hamilton workers, it restores full pay retroactive to the layoff and returns them to their jobs in under two weeks.