Sherritt Plans 90-Day Temporary Layoffs Covering 47% of Its Canadian Staff

What happened

On Wednesday, Sherritt International announced a 90-day temporary layoff affecting about 280 Canadian employees, representing 47% of its domestic workforce. The step follows a June shutdown of metal refining at its Fort Saskatchewan facility in Alberta after the site exhausted its feed inventory.

In May, following the U.S. expansion of sanctions on firms active in Cuba, Sherritt stopped taking part directly in its Cuban joint venture. Since that point, the company has been coping with tight liquidity while navigating regulatory, operational, and financial steps needed to resume mining and processing in Cuba and to restart refining in Canada.

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Operations and approvals

The company said restarting its integrated Cuba to Canada supply chain depends in part on U.S. government approvals. On Oct. 19, Sherritt secured the first OFAC emergency license, the initial step in a planned series of approvals from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, enabling its Cuban nickel operations to receive fuel and sulfur. Additional approvals are required before mining and processing can resume. Interim President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock emphasized that Sherritt is concentrating on getting operations back on line.

Why it matters for your portfolio

This is a stress test for North America's critical minerals setup. According to Sherritt, the Alberta facility stands as the only notable cobalt refinery in the region and is also one of just three nickel refineries, with inputs sourced from Cuba. Delays in restarting that loop can affect how much refined cobalt and nickel reach North American buyers, two inputs tied to battery and industrial demand. The bottom line: policy approvals will set the timetable, and the timetable will shape near term supply.

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