Baffinland cuts 10% of workforce to focus on Steensby rail

Baffinland Iron Mines is laying off 10 per cent of its workforce in Nunavut due to weak iron ore prices. 

Senior advisor Paul Quassa said the company is diverting its resources to the $5.7-billion railroad from the Mary River Mine south to Steensby Inlet. 

"We would be rationalizing our equipment and supplies… and reducing the number of permit fronts to concentrate folks on the Steensby authorization," he said. 

The company is still aiming to begin construction of the Steensby railroad in 2025, he said, pending some licensing permits and finances to be worked out. 

Most of the 170 to 200 jobs being cut will be in blasting and trucking operations, and will include both employees and contractors, Quassa said. 

Inuit workers will not be affected, which is in line with the Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement. 

"If ever the mine is closing down or getting smaller, Inuit should be one of the last ones to be laid off," he said. 

Part of the job cuts, according to Quassa, will come from the reduction in the amount of ore being shipped through Milne Inlet, via a tote road north of the Mary River Mine. 

This year, Baffinland was allowed to ship up to six million tonnes of ore, though it's reducing that to 4.2 million tonnes annually, from next year until the Steensby Inlet railroad is operational. 

Mike Gallagher, the business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 793 — the union that represents Baffinland workers — said he's disappointed Baffinland couldn't sustain its operations through Milne Inlet as well. 

In 2022, the company sent termination notices to over 1,100 of its staff, which included Inuit employees. 

Gallagher believes the latest layoffs could've been avoided if the regulatory process through the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) wasn't so long. 

"The mine has a narrow shipping season. They probably made the calculation they couldn't get the increased shipping approved [for next year]," he said. 

"The board heard from the members we represent. They were unanimous in seeing an increase in production to preserve their jobs."