Alcoa subsidiary in Suriname cuts output by 40 pct

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) -- A Surinamese subsidiary of U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa will slash alumina production by 40 percent because the global economic slowdown has lowered demand. Suriname Aluminum Company LLC, known as Suralco, has no choice but to cut annual output by 870,000 metric tons, the South American nation's natural resources minister said Thursday. "Suralco is currently losing $50 per ton, and cutting production means cutting losses," Gregory Rusland said in the capital, Paramaribo. Alumina is the main ingredient in aluminum. The Alcoa subsidiary said the drastic cut at its Paranam refinery is necessary to protect the long-term viability of the mining industry in Suriname. "We will do our best to dampen the impact of this production curtailment on those affected by offering early retirement, exit packages and work-hour reductions," Suralco managing director Peter de Wit said Tuesday in a statement. The refinery, owned jointly with N.V. BHP Billiton Maatschappij Suriname, employs roughly 1,150 people. Suralco is part of the Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals group of companies owned by Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc. and Alumina Limited. Alcoa is the biggest U.S. aluminum producer.