Tenaris announced Nov. 29 it will temporarily lay off 90 employees and slash production at its Sault Ste. Marie facility by 25 per cent, based partly on an increase in imports to Canada as fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The TenarisAlgomaTubes plant will suspend operations for three weeks starting Dec. 15.
The move comes as Tenaris chairman Paolo Rocca faces serious legal trouble in Argentina. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that an Argentinian judge has indicted the billionaire Tenaris majority shareholder as part of a graft case.
“These are difficult decisions that have resulted from high volumes of energy tubular imports, trade actions against Canada that remain unresolved, and Canadian oil and gas producers activity adjustments due to the widening price differential for their energy,” Tenaris Canada president Guillermo Moreno said in a news release.
“Our production levels remain above those in 2016 when we resumed operations. We are trying, where possible, to reduce the impact to our employees. We remain committed to domestic manufacturing and serving Canada’s energy industry.”
Tenaris manufactures tubular line pipe products for the oil and gas sector and other industries.
