Novelis’s Oswego County aluminium operation is going through some significant alterations in the leadership team, following two destructive fires at a critical part of the site. The company has confirmed that the manager of the Scriba-based facility, Kristen Nelson, along with several other senior leaders, has departed the business. Novelis spokesperson Lauren Thompson acknowledged the leadership changes but offered no explanation beyond confirming the exits.
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“I can confirm that the Oswego plant manager and several Oswego leaders are no longer with the company,” Thompson said in a brief statement. “I would like to recognise their commitment to Novelis and wish them every success in the future. I have no further comment.”
Nelson, aged 41, took charge of the Oswego County plant in 2022, assuming responsibility for what is Novelis’s largest wholly owned manufacturing site in North America. Her appointment followed a lengthy tenure within the company, including a senior leadership role at its aluminium plant in Warren, Ohio.
Just last month, Nelson spoke publicly about leadership during an interview with syracuse.com, where she emphasised the importance of listening and embracing failure as part of professional growth. She described setbacks as a powerful learning tool, both operationally and personally.
The Oswego facility plays a pivotal role in the US manufacturing ecosystem. Producing more than one billion pounds of aluminium sheet annually, it supplies roughly 40 per cent of the aluminium used by American vehicle manufacturers.
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That output was abruptly disrupted in mid-September when a fire tore through the plant’s hot mill, the stage where aluminium slabs are initially rolled into sheet form. The blaze on 16 September caused extensive damage and required emergency crews from more than 20 fire departments to bring it under control.
The incident had immediate consequences beyond Oswego County. Ford Motor Company, Novelis’s largest customer, warned that the disruption would significantly affect its vehicle production. The automaker later estimated a potential earnings impact of between USD 1.5 billion and USD 2 billion, driven largely by reduced output of F-150 trucks and other models.
Novelis said the fire would initially reduce its cash flow by as much as USD 650 million, although the company expects insurance coverage to absorb most of the financial blow.
In response, Novelis launched an intensive repair effort, including reconstruction of approximately 40,000 square feet of roofing within a facility spanning close to 1.5 million square feet. The company had set its sights on restarting the hot mill before the end of December, 2025.
Those plans were derailed when a second fire broke out on 20 November in the same section of the plant. Aerial images showed flames once again punching through the roof, extinguishing any remaining hope of resuming hot mill operations before year-end.
The causes of both incidents remain under investigation.
Novelis has not yet released updated figures on the cost or timeline of repairs following the second fire, but industry observers expect the additional damage to add many millions of dollars to an already substantial bill.
To support the rebuilding effort, the company has applied to the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency for up to USD 15 million in sales tax exemptions on construction materials required for the hot mill. Accessing the full exemption would require material purchases of up to USD 187.5 million, excluding labour and other associated costs.
Elsewhere on the site, operations have partially stabilised. Novelis said its cold mill and heat treatment lines in Oswego County are operating again, using aluminium that has completed initial processing at other facilities within its global network and at partner plants.
Throughout the disruption, the plant’s workforce has been around 1,150 employees, who have remained on the payroll.
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