DULUTH – Cleveland Cliffs is expected to lay off another 45 steelworkers at Hibbing Taconite on Feb. 1, further reducing production at the mine that has been partly idled since last March, according to a union leader.
The Ohio-based company laid off more than 600 workers between its Virginia and Hibbing mines on March 20, blaming excess pellet inventory and the need to balance finances. Iron Range mines are deeply tied to the U.S. auto industry, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs have made for a turbulent time.
“To say [Cliffs is] struggling is an understatement,” said Al King, president of the steelworkers union for the idled Cliffs-owned Minorca mine in Virginia.
A message to a Cleveland Cliffs spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
Because the number of laid-off workers was less than 50, no WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notice was required, which would have given workers more time to find other jobs.
About 250 workers will remain in February, less than half the number it typically employs, King said.
King said he and other union leaders would seek another extension of unemployment benefits for laid-off workers from the Legislature this year.
In a bipartisan effort, northeast Minnesota lawmakers successfully pushed an extended unemployment bill in the last legislative session, which expires in June.
