Job programs arrive next month at Ferndale’s Intalco plant

More than 400 workers facing layoffs at Alcoa Intalco Works aluminum smelter plant near Ferndale will soon get help from a variety of employment retraining services.

The state agency WorkSource Washington will host a series of meetings with employees on Thursdays and Fridays in January to talk about unemployment insurance benefits, job coaching, education options, and other ideas for shifting into a new job or career. WorkSource will also host a series of career, education and community resource fairs in January and February.

Spouses of the workers are encouraged to attend some of the events, said Gary Smith, regional manager for the Northwest Workforce Council.

“We want to make this an approachable way for workers to find out what services and providers are available and what they should expect,” he said.

It’s the next step in the process as Alcoa prepares to idle smelting operations at the facility, laying off 465 workers.

According to a recent Facebook post by the International Association of Machinists Local 2379, after the curtailment is complete in the first quarter of 2016, a projected 72 people will be employed in the casthouse to work on specialty products, with another 24 people employed in maintenance. With one additional coordinator position, the total at the plant will be 97 employees.

Alcoa announced on Monday, Nov. 2 that it was curtailing smelter operations as part of a plan to reduce the global market supply of aluminum, which had knocked prices to six-year lows. Since that announcement, aluminum prices have not recovered. As of Friday, Dec. 18, the price of aluminum was $1,482 for a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

Bloomberg News has reported that most U.S. aluminum smelters need the price to be at least $1,500 a metric ton just to break even. Alcoa officials have said they would consider factors like global aluminum prices in determining if and when the Ferndale smelter would be restarted.

Smith said unemployment insurance will be foremost on the mind of the Intalco workers, so the January meetings will focus on that. At this point, the workers are only eligible for the standard 26-week package, because emergency unemployment extensions from the financial meltdown in 2008 have expired.

What hasn’t been decided is whether the workers qualify for the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, would provide additional resources for affected workers.

Based on survey results about what workers want to know and about their skills, Smith said they plan to tailor the upcoming meetings and fairs to be a good fit. Typically in such situations, the challenge is to find jobs that allow the workers to remain in Whatcom County, Smith said. Most want to to stay in the area, but Smith said some likely will need to look elsewhere to find work.

Other groups have put together events to try to help the workers. Last week, the Lummi Indian Business Council hosted a career fair to help workers from Intalco and those who lost work when the Nooksack River Casino abruptly closed Friday, Dec. 11.

Some manufacturing is struggling in other parts of the state. Last week, layoff notices were sent to 90 employees at the Hoquiam Plywood Products facility in Hoquiam, and to 184 employees at the Omak Wood Products facility, according to the Washington Employment Security Department.

In November, 208,800 people were employed in durable goods manufacturing across the state, which includes metal manufacturing. That’s down 500 people from a year ago, according to data from Employment Security. Last month, 79,300 people were employed in non-durable manufacturing jobs like food manufacturing in Washington, up 1,000 people compared to a year ago.

In September and October, 9,400 people were employed in manufacturing in Whatcom County, the highest level in eight years.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Job programs arrive next month at Ferndale’s Intalco plant."