Alcoa closes Point Hay

[cheap]

I guess the CO2 tax supporters will be overjoyed as another evil pollution industry is removed from Australia

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busi...-1226830195047

Alcoa closures of Point Henry smelter, two mills leave 1000 out of work


Alcoa has announced it will permanently close its Point Henry aluminium smelter at Geelong in August.


ALCOA will close its Point Henry aluminium smelter and two rolling mills, leaving almost 1000 people out of work, in the “darkest day” since the closure of the Newcastle steelworks.

The Point Henry smelter will close in August, throwing 500 workers at the Geelong plant out of jobs.

An adjacent rolling mill and a second mill at Yennora, NSW, will add to the sense of gloom engulfing Australian manufacturing. The two mills employ about 480 people.

Following last week’s shock announcement by Toyota that it would end car production in 2017 — effectively ending car making in Australia — Alcoa this morning informed the New York Stock Exchange that the 40-year-old Point Henry smelter had no prospect of becoming financially viable.

The plant has been under review by the company since February 2012. A federal and state government assistance package extended the life of the smelter till this year.

“We recognise how deeply this decision impacts employees at the affected facilities and are committed to supporting them through this transition,” Alcoa chairman and chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld said.

“Despite the hard work of the local teams, these assets are no longer competitive and are not financially sustainable today or into the future.”

Treasurer Joe Hockey said he felt for the workers who had lost their jobs but “this is one of a number of businesses that will pass, many other businesses will open”.

Mr Hockey also slammed the assistance package provided to Alcoa by the previous government.

“That’s another example where Labor just handed out taxpayers money,” he said.

“Two years later, the smelter closes, $40 million of taxpayers money down the tube.’’

He said there was “no silver bullet here to rebirth businesses like Alcoa, Toyota or Holden”.

“But the government can put in place the right settings — less tax, less regulation, greater expansion opportunities overseas.

“These things are the things that are going to create the jobs of today and tomorrow, not by trying to resuscitate businesses that have decided to leave.’’

Australian Workers’ Union leader Paul Howes has declared the Abbott Government cannot be blamed for Alcoa’ announcement today that it was cutting 980 jobs.

“This is not the fault of the Government,’’ Mr Howes said. “There is nothing the government could have done to stop this announcement today.’’

He blamed lower aluminium prices and the high Australian dollar for what he said was the “darkest day in base metal production” in the country since the closure of the Newcastle steelworks in 1997.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the Alcoa announcement was devastating for workers and their families.

“It is very saddening news for families in Geelong,’’ he said.

“This city has been among the hardest hit by job losses in the car manufacturing industry — today’s announcement will cut deep.”

He said the global oversupply of aluminium, dramatically falling aluminium prices and a high Australian dollar had made the continuation of the operations impossible.

“The Abbott Government must provide adjustment packages for these regions and a transition assistance for these workers,” he said.

“Labor stands ready to work with the government to ensure this happens as soon as possible.

“There will be families in Geelong and Western Sydney today wondering what is next for them — our immediate focus has to be on supporting these workers.

“We need a plan for these workers, just like we need a jobs plan for the tens of thousands of car industry workers and others who are losing their jobs.’’

ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said the Abbott Government “needs to abandon its empty rhetoric and tell Australians where the new jobs are going to come from”.

“Every day workers in this country are confronted with more job losses, more jobs going offshore and continued inaction from the Abbott Government.

“In the last few weeks alone we’ve seen Toyota announce its closure and signal the end of local auto manufacturing and with it 50,000 jobs, 1500 jobs have gone at the Forge Group, Ford announced it will pull out of Australia earlier than expected and Mr Abbott stood by and did nothing to protect 3000 jobs at SPC Ardmona in Shepparton.

“This is all at the same time as Australia’s unemployment rate has reached 6 per cent — the highest it’s been in over a decade.

“The Abbott Government needs to wake up to the fact that being in Government means cheap rhetoric and the blame game isn’t good enough — they need to step up and take responsibility for creating jobs in this country.

“We know Australians are struggling with the cost of living and worried about job security but they’re getting cold comfort from a Federal Government that has made clear it won’t stand up for working people.”

AWU Victorian branch secretary Ben Davis said workers had done all they could to improve efficiency at the sites.

“They have co-operated and implemented productivity improvements and workplace change whenever it was asked of them,” Mr Davis said. “Their reward for all that blood, sweat and tears is to lose their jobs. It is a shameful announcement.” Mr Davis said the closure heaped pain on a region still reeling from recent job shedding at Ford, Target and Boral.

“The Geelong community needs to be reassured that manufacturing has a future here and they urgently need government help through this series of catastrophes,” he said.

“The Geelong region is in crisis. We need a jobs plan now.”

Alcoa Australia chief executive Alan Cransberg is this morning informing workers at the smelter of the decision.

Alcoa said a ‘’comprehensive review found that the 50-year-old smelter has no prospect of becoming financially viable’’.

It said the two rolling mills served the domestic and Asian can sheet markets which have been impacted by excess capacity.

“These are hard decisions to make,” Mr Cransberg said. “We understand how difficult this is for our employees and their families, our contractors, suppliers and community partners.

‘’Everyone has worked hard to improve the competitiveness of the smelter and rolling business. ‘’They are part of a proud history of Alcoa in Australia over the last 50 years and part of the significant contributions we have made to the Australian economy and local communities. We appreciate the ongoing support of the Australian and Victorian governments and will continue to work closely with all levels of government, our employees, unions and community stakeholders to manage through these changes.”