Alcan looking to reduce costs

Faced with a plummeting price for its aluminum, Rio Tinto Alcan's Sebree smelter is striving to improve efficiency and reduce costs sharply, the plant spokesman said Tuesday. The plant is seeking to reduce costs equal to the pay and benefits of 132 employees, spokesman Kenny Barkley said. "We're trying to avoid layoffs," Barkley said. Instead, the plant is trying to reduce costs through attrition -- such as not filling vacancies left by nearly 35 employee retirements -- and through means such as significantly reducing overtime. "If we can't find efficiencies, it's always possible that we'll have layoffs," he said. "We don't want to do that. We're trying our best not to. "Our goal is to operate at full capacity for the short-term and long-term," Barkley said. "We think we can do that." Recent retirements have dropped the Rio Tinto Alcan work force to fewer than 600 workers, he said. The global aluminum industry is reeling from the sharp downturn in the global economy. Spot aluminum prices have collapsed from more than $1.40 per pound in early July 2008 to 60.5 cents as of Tuesday. Competitor Alcoa last month reported a net loss from continuing operations of $929 million during the fourth quarter, compared with a net profit of $702 million in the same period in 2007.