On Tuesday, U.S. Steel Canada announced it had been granted creditor protection and the company was restructuring.
Lawyers are now battling over the company’s debts and determining who will pay them.
Those debts include $150 million that the province loaned the company to keep their Hamilton steel mill open.
That loan is due at the end of 2016.
But it’s not known when, or if, that loan will be repaid.
Ontario’s Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid says the creditor protection announcement doesn’t come as a “total surprise.”
"You see the numbers. The company has been losing money for five years straight. Their assets and liabilities are far out of whack. It's not a sustainable business model right now."
The Pittsburgh-based company currently employs 1800 people at its Hamilton and Nanticoke mills. Another 1400 retirees will also be affected by U.S. Steel’s plan to close its operations in Ontario.
The company’s Canadian division is nearly $800 million short in pension obligations.
They’ve asked the province for $400 million to help meet that need, but taxpayer’s could be responsible for any shortfall.
U.S. Steel’s stock hit a 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced its plan to close its costly Canadian operations.
