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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.