Sherritt plans temporary layoffs for about 280 Canadian workers as it seeks more U.S. licences needed to restart nickel and cobalt refining

FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alta. – About 280 Sherritt International employees in Canada are facing temporary layoffs as the company works through U.S. sanctions requirements that have interrupted the flow of nickel and cobalt feed from Cuba to its Alberta refinery.

Sherritt announced Nov. 4 that the layoffs represent 47 per cent of its Canadian workforce and are expected to last about 90 days.

The company said workers could be recalled earlier if operating conditions allow refining to resume.

Unifor said Thursday that 134 members of Local 530-A at the idle Fort Saskatchewan refinery are among those affected. The union renewed its call for Ottawa to act, arguing that Canadian critical-mineral jobs should not be lost because of U.S. sanctions.

Refinery stopped after feed ran out

The refinery stopped metals production June 22 after its inventory of feed from the Moa joint venture in Cuba was depleted. Sherritt had suspended its direct participation in Cuban joint-venture activities on May 7 following an expansion of U.S. sanctions.

Sherritt said it received the first of a series of expected emergency licences from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 19. More regulatory, operating and financial steps are still required before mining and processing in Cuba and refining in Canada can restart. The company has not announced a restart date.

Ammonia fertilizer and sulphuric-acid production and sales are expected to continue during the layoff period, along with required maintenance, environmental protection and safety work.

A Canadian supply-chain test

The disruption matters beyond one plant. Sherritt describes Fort Saskatchewan as North America’s only significant cobalt refinery and one of three nickel refineries on the continent. Nickel and cobalt are used in specialty alloys and some batteries, and both appear on Canada’s critical-minerals list.

The company says the layoffs are intended to preserve liquidity while it works toward a restart. That cause and timetable are company statements and remain dependent on additional licences and other conditions.

Unifor wants stronger Canadian legal protection against the reach of the U.S. measures and Export Development Canada financing for the operation. Those are union proposals; no federal commitment was identified in the sources reviewed by the 7:22 a.m. EST cutoff.

Source notes

– Sherritt International layoff release. Dated Nov. 4, 2026; workforce, duration, refinery status and licence details checked Nov. 13 at 7:22 a.m. EST

– Unifor statement. Published Nov. 12, 2026 at 12:39 p.m. ET; union membership and requested federal response checked Nov. 13