Sherritt Announces Temporary Workforce Layoffs as it Advances Path Toward Restoring its Metals Refining Operations

Sherritt International Corporation announced temporary layoffs affecting approximately 280 employees, representing 47% of its Canadian workforce. The reductions are expected to last about 90 days, with the possibility of an earlier recall. The company stated the move is a liquidity-preservation measure while the Fort Saskatchewan refinery remains shut.

Refining operations ceased on June 22, 2026, after feed inventory was depleted. This followed the suspension of direct participation in Cuban joint venture activities on May 7, 2026, after U.S. Executive Order 14404 expanded sanctions. Sherritt said it received the first of a series of anticipated OFAC emergency licenses on October 19, 2026, which are required to restart mining and processing in Cuba and refining in Canada.

Certain activities continue during the layoff, including ammonia fertilizer and sulphuric acid production and sales, maintenance, and environmental protection and safety work. The release also disclosed that the Chief Human Resources Officer has departed; the Vice President, Human Resources, a 14-year company veteran, has assumed oversight.

The company provided no restart date, no quantified layoff savings, no update to production or cost guidance, and no new financing term. The first OFAC license was already disclosed in the October 19/20 releases, so the incremental news here is the workforce reduction and the CHRO departure.

Sherritt International Corporation (S) released information confirming that its refinery remains idle and that the company is reducing its workforce to preserve cash, rather than announcing a restart, securing financing, or providing a revised operating plan. The announcement details a 47% reduction in the Canadian workforce, though no specific savings figure was provided. This move follows the already known issuance of the first OFAC license.

The market had previously repriced the company’s distress, with the stock closing at C$0.20 on November 3, down from a spike high of C$0.47 on August 19. The release does not introduce a fresh production or cost estimate cut, nor does it resolve the going-concern question, serving instead as a confirmation of liquidity preservation.

Sherritt International Corporation (S) is a TSX-listed hydrometallurgical nickel and cobalt producer and refiner. Its key assets include the Moa nickel-cobalt joint venture in Cuba, the Fort Saskatchewan refinery in Alberta, and a one-third interest in Energas, a Cuban power joint venture. The company also carries legacy Oil & Gas environmental liabilities, including Spanish rehabilitation costs.

The Fort Saskatchewan refinery is described as the only significant cobalt refinery and one of just three nickel refineries in North America. The asset is currently idle and dependent on Cuban feed and U.S. regulatory approvals.