Cleveland-Cliffs plans to idle its Minorca mine and partially idle its Hibbing mine.

A statement from the company says, “These temporary idles are necessary to re-balance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory produced in 2024. 630 employees will be impacted following the completion of the 60-day WARN period. We remain committed to supporting our employees and communities while monitoring market conditions.”

Reported numbers have varied, but the state of Minnesota said there are expected to be 255 workers impacted at Hibtac and 342 at Minorca.

Minorca’s union president, Al King, said they have ceased production as of Thursday. And there’s no date for a restart. They are Local 6115.

Out of Hibtac, Local 2705 president Chris Johnson said they knew something was coming, but they weren’t sure when or what it would look like.

“With our reserves sitting as they are, the question is are we going to bring these people back until we have a solution?” he added.

The Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) letter from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says Steelworkers could be facing layoffs starting May 20, 2025 or sometime in the two weeks after. DEED said Cliffs expects the layoffs to be temporary but could not give an exact length of time. It could be over six months.

According to Senator Grant Hauschild, the impacts are 340 employees at Minorca in Virginia and 250 in Hibbing.

“The automobile industry is facing one of the most challenging economic conditions in recent history and the Iron Range supplies much of the pellets necessary for that industry,” a statement from Hauschild’s office read.

He said he will continue to work with local leaders and stakeholders to find solutions.

Rep. Cal Warwas’s district includes both Minorca and Hibtac. He has friends and family who work at the plants, and he himself is employed by the mining industry.

“I’ve heard Cliffs is going to pay their people in full until unemployment kicks in,” he said.

He added this is also tough on the contractors who do work in the mines.

Senator Amy Klobuchar is the latest to send a statement: “Our country was built by miners and their hard work and we will do everything we can to help. I have spoken with local mayors and United Steelworker leadership, and I spoke with the Cleveland-Cliffs CEO who pledged to do everything he can to make sure this is temporary and return miners to work when markets improve.”

The last time there was an idle was at Northshore Mining in 2022-2023.