Canadian steelmaker Algoma Steel has issued roughly 1,000 layoff notices effective March 23, 2026, as it prepares to shut down its blast-furnace and coke-making operations and move fully into electric arc furnace (EAF) production. The shift is unfolding at the same time the company faces heavy U.S. steel tariffs that have sharply restricted its access to the American market.

Algoma has linked the layoffs to both the tariff shock and the long-planned switch to electric arc furnaces, which require far fewer workers than coal-fired integrated steelmaking. The company has been working toward the transition for several years, supported by substantial public funding. In 2025, Ottawa and Ontario provided a combined $500 million in loan guarantees to stabilize operations during the changeover. That support followed an earlier federal commitment of up to $420 million announced in 2021 to help Algoma purchase equipment and begin phasing out its coal-based system.

The employment impact of the new technology has been known for some time. Earlier this year, CEO Michael Garcia acknowledged publicly that the company expected to have about 1,000 fewer positions once both electric furnaces were fully established near the end of the decade. The timing of the cuts, however, has shifted. The tariff pressure forced the company to shut its blast furnace and coke-making facilities earlier than planned, compressing the transition and triggering the job losses sooner than anticipated.

The layoffs represent about one-third of Algoma’s workforce. As of late 2024, the company employed just under 2,900 full-time staff.

Although Algoma has framed the EAF conversion as an essential modernization and a step toward lower-carbon steelmaking, the process has renewed questions about the influence of private investment interests. Denis Turcotte — a former Algoma Steel chief executive — now holds a senior role at Brookfield Asset Management, a firm with high-profile leadership ties that include Mark Carney. 

With Algoma receiving hundreds of millions in public funds while planning a major workforce reduction, the overlap between government-backed industrial financing and Brookfield’s presence in the sector has prompted renewed scrutiny over whose interests are ultimately being served.