68 Nemaska Lithium Employees to Be Laid Off as Construction Pause Planned for 2027
Key Facts
Quebec’s economy minister’s office was informed that Nemaska Lithium will lay off 68 employees in phases through December 2026, TVA Nouvelles reported. The cuts come as construction on the project is planned to pause during 2027, putting the development schedule for the lithium facility in Quebec into a period of uncertainty. Journal de Québec reported that the company included cost and schedule challenges in its technical and commercial assessment of the project. This does not establish that construction had stopped entirely at the time of the report; Rio Tinto said in an earlier update that some activities would continue while others were suspended or postponed. The report thus combines workforce reductions with a planned future pause, while details of the execution path remain tied to the assessment’s findings.
Rio Tinto holds a 53.9% stake in the project, while the Quebec government, through Investissement Québec, owns about 46.1%, TVA Nouvelles reported. Rio Tinto said in February 2026 that it had become the largest shareholder and taken on direct management responsibilities for Nemaska. The company links the project to its efforts to build an integrated lithium business in Quebec, while the government’s role as a financial partner makes the project relevant to the province’s industrial plans. TVA valued the project at C$3.6 billion. The report added that about C$500 million is still needed to complete it, putting the funding gap alongside the cost and schedule challenges the company said it is reviewing.
In February 2026, Rio Tinto said the Quebec government would invest up to US$200 million in Nemaska through equity subscriptions, and that the company would invest more than US$300 million in lithium activities in the province during the year. Those commitments reflect the announced scale of funding to support the sector and the project, but do not eliminate the additional need to complete the project reported by TVA. Rio Tinto said in March that construction was more than 70% complete and that it and Nemaska’s board had agreed to slow work during 2026 to complete improvements to the execution plan. The company said at the time that some site activities would continue while others were suspended or postponed. It also said it did not expect major changes to the project’s overall schedule when its update was issued.
The schedule Rio Tinto announced in February called for commissioning activities to begin in 2026, with first production expected in 2028. In its March update, the company said the pace of construction was expected to pick up again after the improvements were completed, and that it did not expect major changes to the overall schedule. But the planned pause during 2027 and layoffs phased through December put those earlier dates in the context of the current project review; on their own, they do not establish that the production date has changed. The funding gap reported by TVA, along with the cost and schedule assessment, remains among the factors tied to completion of the work. Any resumption of the construction pace after the pause depends on the outcome of the improvements and subsequent project decisions.
Rio Tinto shares closed at $84.97 in the November 11, 2026 session, according to EL7 data. The closing price is from the session before the report’s publication date, while the approved data does not include verified figures for the stock’s opening price or its session high and low. The available company update did not specify a new date for the start of commissioning or production following the plan announced in February. The company had said site activities would vary, with some continuing and others suspended or postponed during the slowdown. The milestones announced in February and March therefore remain the backdrop to the project plan, while subsequent dates remain subject to the execution and funding review.