Cliffs announces layoff of 600 mine workers

REGIONAL— Cleveland Cliffs plans to lay off approximately 600 mine workers on the Iron Range due to slower than expected sales. That’s according to a press statement issued Thursday by state Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL- Hermantown.

The layoffs will include an estimated 340 steelworkers at the Minorca Mine in Virginia and 250 steelworkers at Hibbing Taconite.

“This is difficult news for our steelworkers, their families, and our entire Iron Range community,” said Hauschild. “Mining isn’t just an industry here—it’s our way of life. The men and women who work in our mines are the backbone of the Range, and their hard work has built and sustained communities across Minnesota for generations.”

Hauschild said he’s been informed by company officials that the layoffs are temporary and are necessary to address a backlog of taconite pellet inventory that built up over the past year. The automobile industry is facing one of the most challenging economic conditions in recent years and the Iron Range supplies most of the pellets necessary for that industry, noted Hauschild.

“I will do everything in my power to support these workers and will work with Cleveland-Cliffs during these tough economic times to find a path forward for restarting these mines when conditions allow.”

The layoffs are the first to hit the Iron Range since Cleveland Cliffs idled its Northshore Mine in 2022. That layoff lasted about a year.

The layoffs come on the heels of a disappointing 2024 for Cleveland Cliffs, which company CEO Lourenco Goncalves attributed to the slowdown in domestic automobile manufacturing. Domestic automakers are significant consumers of Cleveland Cliffs’ steel.

But Goncalves expressed optimism in his latest quarterly financial report back in February that the imposition of high tariffs on foreign steel imports would boost the company’s bottom line.

“As of late February, Cleveland-Cliffs is well on the way for a dramatic rebound in 2025,” said Goncalves. “We can already see the early signals of this rebound in automotive pull, index pricing, and our overall order book.”