Alcoa back in business at Wenatchee

Workers at the idled aluminum smelter in Wenatchee, Wash., represented by the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) and the Aluminum Trades Council of Wenatchee, have voted to accept a labour agreement that will save about 400 jobs.

Alcoa (AA-N) is taking immediate steps to restart the smelter, which has been dormant since July 2001. Two of the four lines at the smelter are expected to be restarted once acceptable power contracts have been secured. The ramp-up to two lines is slated for completion in mid-2005.

Alcoa rescinded the 400 layoff notices it issued on in late July, following a tentative agreement between it and the unions whereby employees at the facility will be placed on the company’s “select benefits” health care program beginning in January 2005 and lasting until the company’s master contract agreement with the USWA is renegotiated in 2006. That master contract will cover 15 Alcoa facilities and 8,900 employees

“We all must continue to work together to find ways to compete in a global atmosphere,” says Alan Cransberg, President of Alcoa’s North American Primary Metals division. “This is, and will continue to be, a never-ending challenge. Our survival is based on being a low-cost, high-quality producer. There is no security if we can’t meet both.”

Upon its re-start, the Wenatchee facility will join Alcoa’s Intalco facility in Ferndale, Wash., as the only aluminum smelters in the Pacific Northwest in operation.

Alcoa also no longer plans to record a pretax charge of US$20 million in its 2004 third quarter to cover the costs of the layoff, which it announced last month.

Alcoa is a producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina facilities.