Evraz to lay off more than 100 workers at Regina's steel mill
More than 100 Evraz employees will be laid off from Regina’s steel mill in February, according to the company.
The steel company plans to reduce its two-inch and 24-inch pipe production, resulting in layoffs at the Regina and Camrose, Alta. mills.
“That’s really in response to our customer forecast dropping off. Customer orders have dropped off over the past weeks that has been driven by imports in the market,” Michael Yeats, Senior Vice-President, Canada for Evraz North America explained.
“We just don’t have enough orders to sustain that same level of production that we were at.”
According to Yeats, high volumes of cheap imports from China and Korea are flooding the Canadian market and making it difficult to compete for business.
Over 100 workers will be temporarily laid off in Regina and more than 30 employees will be impacted in Camrose.
Ryan McKenzie, acting president of the United Steelworkers Local 5890, said the union is in talks with Evraz. He expects the company to finalize a list of layoffs this week.
“It’s never a good time to get laid off and right now it’s probably worse than most with the economy,” McKenzie said.
“It’s the nature of the industry. It’s cyclical. It’s something you never look forward to, but it’s something that’s not a big surprise.”
Evraz has two active trade cases open to deal with what the company calls “unfairly traded imports.”
“We’re working closely with the Canadian federal government to ensure our trade laws are enforced and that imports don’t continue to undermine or hurt the domestic steel industry,” Yeats said.
Yeats said it is hard to predict when the market might rebound and pipe production will resume to normal levels.
However, he said he is optimistic about the longer-term market, adding that it will depend on the federal government’s enforcement of trade laws.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires at suspected Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
Iran fired air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones, which were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
DEVELOPING Israel targets air defence system in Syria, state news agency says
Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defence unit in southern Syria, causing material damage, state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.