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About 600 Iron Range mine workers could be laid off by May, potentially spending six months off the job. 

This comes a little over a week after President Donald Trump imposed 

25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports

 and Canada retaliated with its own 25 percent tax.

“Right now, the car industry is coming to grips with the fact that these tariffs don't appear to be a bargaining chip,” said Tony Barrett, professor emeritus in economics at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. “It’s almost like a little seizure here.”

Cleveland-Cliffs announced the layoffs at two of their mines

 on the Iron Range. In a statement, the company said it would temporarily close the Minorca Mine in Virginia, Minn., and partially idle the nearby Hibbing Taconite plant. Barrett said that although there is looming uncertainty with tariffs and layoffs, he doesn’t see these mines closing for good.

“There is going to be demand for steel, and the Iron Range is where you get the iron ore in this country,” he said. “They’re used to shutdowns. It’s just, somewhat ironic it’s happening at a time when tariffs are supposedly protecting the steel industry.”

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Workers at two Iron Range mining facilities are facing layoffs but a professor of economics says their roles are likely too valuable to be out of the job for good. 

Iron Range layoffs come in wake of tariffs meant to protect steel industry

Iron Range layoffs come in wake of tariffs meant to protect steel industry

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