Alcoa's Point Henry and Yennora rolling mills close down

Alcoa Australia Rolled Products permanently closed its Point Henry and Yennora rolling mills this week, after five decades of operation.

“There is no doubt it is a sad week for our 430 employees, their families and the Geelong and Yennora communities,” said AARP Managing Director Malcolm Murphy.

“I am thankful for the dedication that our people have shown across their Alcoa careers, particularly in recent months when the closure was imminent. A significant amount of change has occurred in our business this year, and our employees have responded in the best way they knew how; by working more safely than ever and delivering a high quality product to customers.”

In February 2014 Alcoa announced it would permanently close its Point Henry and Yennora facilities. The two rolling mills serve the domestic and Asian can sheet markets which have been impacted by excess capacity.

Alcoa implemented a multi-million dollar program to equip its employees with the skills and support they need to secure sustainable alternative employment in the region. This included career transition assistance, one-on-one career counselling, directly sponsored short-term courses and financial support for employees to undertake their own accredited training.

“With these skills, our employees are well placed to transition into future employment” Mr Murphy said.

Economically, Alcoa’s Point Henry operations have contributed more than $10 billion to the Australian economy through royalties, taxes, wages, purchasing and investment, including more than $100 million a year into the Geelong region. The Yennora facilities contributed more than $3.5 billion into the economy.

An Alcoa team has commenced decommissioning the Point Henry smelter and environmental assessments are being undertaken at both Point Henry and Yennora with the goal to determine how best to return the sites to productive use.