Alcoa to close Intalco Works smelter near Ferndale, lays off around 700 employees
Alcoa Corporation announced that it will close its Intalco Works smelter near Ferndale amid declining market conditions, laying off around 700 employees.
The curtailment is expected to be complete by the end of July 2020. The announcement was made in a news release on Wednesday afternoon, April 22.
“While our employees have worked diligently to improve the facility, the smelter is uncompetitive, and current market conditions have exacerbated the facility’s challenges,” said Alcoa President and CEO Roy Harvey in the news release. “This is difficult because of the impact on our employees, and we will ensure appropriate support as we work to safely curtail the facility.”
Since the beginning of the year, aluminum prices have fallen more than 20 percent, down 45 percent from highs in 2018. In the first quarter of 2020, the Intalco smelter lost $24 million.
Steve Emig, Intalco plant manager, said the employees have worked together to address numerous challenges in an attempt to make the site competitive in the global market.
“Unfortunately, we cannot control the larger market dynamics,” Emig said in the news release. “While this is a sad day, I remain proud of our Intalco team. We will work together during this difficult transition, focusing on safety and providing all available support to our employees.”
Intalco will be working with its employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union, and other stakeholders to minimize the impact of the curtailment.
Established in 1966, the aluminum smelter has 279,000 metric tons of nameplate operating capacity; 49,000 metric tons of production was curtailed earlier according to the news release.
The Alcoa Foundation will continue its annual giving, donating $200,000 to qualifying non-profit organizations in the local community in 2020.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 1:31 PM.
