One-third of workers at U.S. Steel set to retire

More than 35 per cent of U.S. Steel's Hamilton workers are retiring in the wake of the temporary closure of the plant.

A day after the steel giant said it was concerned about losing the workers needed to restart its Canadian mills, the figures suggest a major downsizing is already under way.

"If they wanted to start up the whole plant tomorrow, they'd have a huge problem," said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005 at Hamilton Steel.