MASSENA, N.Y. – A dagger through the heart of Massena, N.Y.’s economy was also thrust into the chests of employees at the Alcoa smelter Monday when the company announced massive layoffs.
Alcoa said Monday in a news release it will idle the Massena West smelter. The company will not modernize the New York Massena East smelter and will permanently close the facility, which is coupled with the fact that potlines at Massena East have been closed since March 2014.
The move is devastating as up to 500 well-paying jobs will be dumped in the process, leaving up to 230 in place.
“Alcoa has consistently taken decisive actions to create a commodity business that is positioned to succeed throughout the cycle,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and chief executive officer. “These difficult, but necessary measures will further strengthen our…portfolio, reducing our cost position and driving greater resilience as we prepare to launch this business as a strong standalone company in the second half of 2016.”
Alcoa, not unlike Domtar in Cornwall, has been a fixture in Massena dating back to 1902, reported the Massena Courier-Observer.
The newspaper reported Monday that the soon-to-be-idled West smelter was losing up to $1 million a week, according to a source.
The Courier-Observer further suggested Monday’s announcement comes two years after the company shuttered its East plant, the former Reynolds Metals Company plant that had opened in 1959, adding the idling of the East Plant sent 332 into early retirement or employment at another one of the company’s plants, including Massena West.
