Century Aluminum hit badly by severely weakened metal market

Century Aluminium is all set for large-scale cost reduction; and this includes plans of huge layoffs at the company's Hawesville, Kentucky plant location- a decision likely to affect as many as 600 employees, if not more.

The layoffs, made inevitable by the highly volatile metal market condition, begins October 24.

Century officials say a severely weakened metal market due to a Chinese over-capacity of aluminum and what they call “unfair trade behavior” from China is prompting the closure of the Hawesville plant. That is unless the pricing environment changes drastically.

Hawesville will stop producing primary aluminium by November 1.