Alcoa said it will begin the cuts later in the fourth quarter, and will aim to complete them by the end of the first quarter of 2016.
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Once the latest round of closures have been implemented, Alcoa would have curtailed or closed 673 000 t of uncompetitive smelting capacity and 2.5-million tonnes of refining capacity since it announced a review of 500 000 t of smelting capacity and 2.8-million tonnes of refining capacity in March.
In more bad economic news for Upstate New York, the once-largest industrial employer north of Syracuse, Alcoa, announced Monday afternoon it would idle one Massena smelting plant and permanently close another, according to various area news outlets.
Alcoa said in a statement that it will continue to operate the Intalco casthouse in Ferndale.
“Alcoa has consistently taken decisive actions to create a commodity business that is positioned to succeed throughout the cycle”, says Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman and chief executive officer of Alcoa.
Alcoa will curtail its smelting and refining capacity in a bid to remain competitive in the downbeat global resources environment.
Alcoa’s cuts, coupled with recent announcements by Century, represent around 30 percent of US aluminum production and will leave just four smelters operating in the United States, with capacity to produce 759,600 tonnes per year.
“In the face of continued adverse market forces, we are once again not standing still”, Alcoa said.
Alcoa is idling a few of its operations at the Intalco plant outside of Ferndale. And the company got cut-rate electricity from the New York Power Authority in exchange for maintaining jobs, according to North Country News.
“Alcoa has a long, proud history at the affected locations”, said Alcoa vice president Roy Harvey in a statement released Monday. Unfortunately, today’s pricing environment necessitates very hard decisions.
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Also as part of the agreement, the New York Power Authority temporarily reduced Alcoa’s hydropower supply contract of 478 megawatts while supplying enough energy to support operations at the Massena West Plant.
