Welcome back to Inside the Village, a one-of-a-kind podcast where all news is local — and no topic is off-limits.
On this week's episode: An in-depth conversation with the CEO of Sault Ste. Marie's largest employer.
Michael Garcia is chief executive officer of Algoma Steel, a company that ships approximately half of its output south of the border. He also happens to be an American citizen who served in the U.S. army and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
We invited Garcia on the podcast to talk in detail about how Donald Trump's threatened tariffs could wreak havoc on the Sault's biggest company, and why he thinks the U.S. president is so bent on protectionism.
But our conversation covered a lot of other ground, too, including Algoma's shift to electric arc steelmaking and the company's legacy of pollution.
Garcia also addressed the fact that as the company transitions to its electric arc furnaces over the next few years, the plant's workforce will drastically decrease — from approximately 2,700 today to roughly 1,700 by 2029.
While a portion of those cuts will come through retirements, some job losses are inevitable.
"That's one of the most sobering parts of this transformation," Garcia said. "We've tried to be open with our employees from the very beginning, helping them understand what this means, what the journey looks like, and some idea of the timeframe that these moves will be made in.”
He said his goal is to make sure the process unfolds "with openness, respect and caring for everybody involved.”
"We’re a family and everybody in Algoma Steel is a full, valuable member of the team right now and they'll continue to be that way until the day that they're not on the team," Garcia said. "And unfortunately, we're going to be a smaller team in the future. But we're going to be a sustainable company and we're going to be here for decades and decades.”
It's a long interview — nearly 80 minutes — but the conversation provides a lot of insight into what is happening at Algoma Steel right now, and the major changes expected to occur over the next few years.
Hosted by Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti, the Editor-in-Chief of Village Media, Inside the Village is a news and current affairs podcast that provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across our chain of Ontario newsrooms. Produced by Derek Turner, the program also explores bigger-picture issues that impact people across the province.
Every episode can be found HERE. If you prefer the audio version, it is available wherever you find your favourite podcasts.
Have something to say? You can reach us at itv@villagemedia.ca.
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