Did U.S. Steel keep its promise to Hamilton, Canada?

US Steel is shutting down its blast furnace in Hamilton for good. Once employing thousands, the company now has only hundreds left there. Call Ontario Today with Rita Celli at 1-888-817-8995 to be a part of the show. Listen live right here.

U.S. Steel will permanently close its idle iron and steel-making operations in Hamilton by the end of the year, but coke production at the plant will continue, officials say.

Mario Longhi, CEO of U.S. Steel Corp., said in a conference call Tuesday that it will close the operations by Dec. 31.

Forty-seven non-union employees will be "affected," according to U.S. Steel spokeswoman Courtney Boone. 

“Notice will be provided to those employees affected, and every effort will be made to reassign them," she told CBC News. “The permanent shutdown affects the iron and steel-making operations, which have been on temporary idle since late 2010.”

From Ontario Today:

US Steel vs Hamilton. Do you care?  As part of the takeover, the American company did promise to keep thousands of jobs at two sites in Ontario. Within a year and a half, 700 workers were gone in Hamilton.

The federal Conservatives fought back. They did something unprecedented. They took US Steel to court. They might be the only time ever, alleging that the company had broken its end of the bargain.  

It has been six years since US Steel bought Stelco, at the time, the last big Canadian owned steel company. Six years and now news that it is permanently cutting off its most meaningful ties to Hamilton.

Did this company break its contract. It's promise under the Foreign Investment Act. Do you care? Call 1-888-817-8995

They do in Hamilton.