Century Aluminum shutting down potline at Hawesville, will lay off 120

Century Aluminum Co. today announced that it is shutting down one of the five potlines at its smelter in Hawesville because of the worldwide collapse of prices and demand for aluminum. The company will lay off 120 of its 750 employees at the Hancock County smelter. “It’s because of the economic crisis and the fact that the price of aluminum has fallen from $3,000 per metric ton to under $1,300 per metric ton,” company spokesman Mike Dildine said. “We’ve never seen anything like it,” Dildine said. “The demand for aluminum really crashed” as demand for many manufactured goods plummeted, he said. “We don’t think the current price for aluminum is sustainable,” Dildine said. “Our estimate is that two-thirds of the smelters in the world are losing money at the current price. We don’t know of any U.S. producers making money at the current price.” Rio Tinto Alcan, which employs nearly 600 people at its Sebree smelter, is similarly challenged. The plant’s spokesman, Kenny Barkley, said last week the smelter has been directed to reduce costs equal to the pay and benefits of 132 employees. Alcan hopes to accomplish by not filling vacancies and improving operating efficiencies, although Barkley said “it’s always possible that we’ll have layoffs. We don’t want to do that. We’re trying our best not to.”