More than 600 Iron Range steelworkers out of work as auto industry cuts orders because of tariffs

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Star Tribune

March 20, 2025 at 6:09PM


More than 600 Iron Range steelworkers will be out of a job as mines that supply the struggling auto industry go offline. Cleveland-Cliffs will temporarily idle two Minnesota operations: Hibbing Taconite Co. in Hibbing and the Minorca Mine in Virginia. The Ohio-based company, North America’s largest producer of flat-rolled steel, has notified the state of the upcoming layoffs, according to a statement Thursday.

“These temporary idles are necessary to rebalance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory produced in 2024,” the statement said. “We remain committed to supporting our employees and communities while monitoring market conditions.” While Cleveland-Cliffs executives say they expect President Donald Trump’s tariff plans to shift the industry in their favor, tariffs are shaking up the U.S. auto industry and could have downstream effects on American-made steel.

After a 60-day period under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, 630 employees will be laid off, according to the company. The two plants produce steel pellets used in automobile manufacturing.

As Trump’s nascent trade war takes hold, Minnesota taconite producers may benefit from a 25% tariff on steel. Still, analysts aren’t anticipating the import tax will boost domestic production enough to replace imported steel. U.S. steel production capacity rose just 7% after tariffs were implemented during Trump’s first term, according to a March 12 report from RBC Capital Markets.

Read more: https://www.startribune.com/iron-range-layoffs-cleveland-cliffs-taconite-steelworkers/601240194

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IIRC, this was the company putting in a bid to buy U.S. Steel.

[TommieMommy]

1. He's turning our country to 💩 😡😡😡

[Ray Bruns]

2. This cannot be true. Stinky said the tariffs would bring back jobs.

[bronxiteforever]

3. Yes

[Botany]

4. This is from the insanity of Trump's unneeded

... actions. The ripple effect will be felt from the producers of taconite pellets, metal, and
metal products, shippers, ports, railroads, auto
plants, tool and die shops, the zillion dollar a year income produced by the metro Detroit, MI and Windsor, Ontario region. And so on and on. And also the recycling industries that takes old metal, glass, paper, and plastics and makes them into car parts?

Good God in Butter is Trump clueless.

The US/Canadian trade thing was working just fine. We will be lucky if we just get a recession and not a depression. Orange Fucking Idiot.

[Joinfortmill]

5. The pain begins in earnest.

[IronLionZion]

6. Super genius efficiency and job creation

I guess when douchebag surrounds himself with yes men, there's no one left to advise him of consequences of his disastrous ideas. Not that he cares anyway.

tax cuts are not much benefit to those who are unemployed.

[enigmania]

7. Why doesn't the press mention

that gas, oil and food in bulk are global commodities? Price increases will affect all products. Oh, right.

[Gimpyknee]

8. How can this be?

Trump promised tariffs would bring more work to steel workers.

[Bayard]

9. Who did you vote for?

[wolfie001]

11. 👆👆👆👆👆 THIS!!!! 👆👆👆👆👆

Most prolly voted for the lying orange fatty. Coffee tasting a bit different for them this morning.

[OldBaldy1701E]

13. My first thought after reading the article.

The person who owns the place where we live is from Virginia. I cannot wait for him to report on his next visit home.

I am betting most of them voted for that orange gibbon. I hope they enjoy this next Minnesota winter without income or the means to find any. After all, they wanted America to be great again!

[wolfie001]

16. I'm retired Union grocery and I've never voted rePUKE

So many co-workers bought into the 'ronnie rayguns fantasy'. Now the 'donald duck nightmare'

[DetlefK]

10. "Consume excess pellet inventory" - translation:

"We don't need what you are manufacturing because the whole chain is currently bottlenecked."

[mn9driver]

12. The iron range has been a pretty reliable Democratic voting bloc

Until this past November, when the GOP won pretty decisively.

I’ll bet there are more than a few mining families who are regretting that now.

[hjh3rd]

15. I guess learning the phrase FAFO

probably isn’t quite what they were expecting. I have zero sympathy for any Trump voter who is now regretting their vote. They have caused the country a great deal of harm and they will have to accept they are the ones responsible for it.