One of Sault Ste. Marie’s largest employers, Tenaris, is laying of 40 workers, saying it’s directly due to the 25% tariff on imported steel imposed by the United States government.
The company, a manufacturer of steel pipes, says in a statement:
“The implementation of a tariff has created an unsustainable market to serve our U.S. customers.”
Tenaris says that as of July 1st, approximately 40 union employees will be temporarily laid off.
“These employees were hired in January to respond to increased operations at that time to meet new demand for our products. The market outlook remains uncertain as we continue to understand the full-scale impacts of cross-border tariffs and due to the increase in imports to Canada from countries that have also lost the U.S. market as a result of the Section 232 action against them.” said Tenaris spokesman, David McHattie.
Ottawa announced an assistance program Friday for Canadian firms affected by the tariffs, and Tenaris officials say they will need to look at the details of the new Work-Sharing program before they can commit to applying.
They say while the industry environment remains uncertain, the length of the temporary layoffs is unknown.
