Donald Trump’s trade war has wiped out more jobs at Algoma Steel.
CEO Michael Garcia said approximately 200 employees have been laid off since U.S. tariffs took effect — and that the future of the Sault-based steelmaker remains “very uncertain” as Ottawa scrambles to negotiate a new trade deal with the Trump Administration by Aug. 1.
“We've been paying a 25 per cent tariff since March and a 50 per cent tariff since June,” Garcia said during an interview on Village Media’s Closer Look podcast. “That has been very challenging for us, and we've had to lay off around 200 of our employees — around 10 per cent of our professional and technical staff — so it's been quite impactful from that point.”
When the U.S. implements a tariff, the cost falls on what is known as the importer of record. In Algoma Steel's case, the company — not the U.S. customer — is the importer of record.
VIDEO: This is how Trump’s tariffs will impact Algoma Steel
Garcia acknowledged that as the trade war drags on, there is “a lot of stress and tension” among steel plant employees.
“Everybody is nervous, everybody is uncertain about what the future is going to bring,” he told the podcast. “But we're focusing on what we can control.”
“We're being as flexible as we can,” he continued. “We're being creative. We're trying to run our schedules in the most efficient and flexible way. That's created a hardship on employees. It's not easy. I would love nothing better than to tell every one of our employees exactly what their shift schedule is going to be for the next six months, but we just can't do it.”
Before President Trump returned to the White House, Algoma Steel exported more than half of its product to the United States. That portion of the business has all but dried up over the past few months — threatening the very survival of the company, which now employs approximately 2,600 people.
Earlier this week, Algoma Steel confirmed it is seeking $500 million in federal support through a new program that provides loans to large companies impacted by the U.S. tariffs.
Garcia told the podcast that it’s difficult to predict Algoma’s next move until the company knows for certain whether President Trump will keep the tariffs intact.
“I know that if the 50 per cent tariff is in place for any extended period of time after Aug. 1, that's going to have serious consequences for Algoma Steel,” he said. “It’s really going to depend on what that tariff looks like. I think if the tariff comes down to a level that we can understand how our business can survive, then the future is bright.”
Asked if Algoma Steel will survive for another five years, Garcia again pointed to the tariffs.
“If it's a 50 per cent tariff, I don't know,” he replied. “We're going to try our best to continue to be here. It would take some extreme measures, but we won't know exactly what that will take until we know the tariff. So if you can tell me exactly what the tariff rate is going to be for the next 10 years, I can give you a very good answer on that. If you can't tell me exactly what the tariffs are going to be, then right now I don't have a great answer for you.”
You can watch the full interview HERE.
New episodes of Closer Look drop every Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. across the Village Media network. You can find every episode HERE or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.
Have something to say? You can reach us at closerlook@villagemedia.ca.
Want to see more video features from Village Media? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
