Alcoa To Curtail Kwinana Alumina Refinery In Western Australia, Cut Jobs

(RTTNews) - Alcoa Corp. (AA) said that it plans to fully curtail production in 2024 at its Kwinana Alumina Refinery in Western Australia, with the process beginning in the second quarter.

The company said the determination to curtail the 60-year-old facility is based on a variety of factors, including its age, scale, operating costs and current bauxite grades, in addition to current market conditions.

According to the company, the curtailment will include a phased reduction of the workforce from around 800 employees at the start of 2024 to approximately 250 in the third quarter of this year, when all alumina production will cease. Certain processes, however, will continue until about the third quarter of 2025, when employee numbers will be further reduced to approximately 50.

The company noted that the refinery and associated residue storage facilities will continue to be actively managed. Alcoa's port facilities located alongside the refinery will continue to operate to import raw materials and export alumina produced at the Company's Pinjarra Alumina Refinery. Production at the Pinjarra and Wagerup refineries is not expected to be impacted by the curtailment at Kwinana.

In the first quarter of 2024, Alcoa will record restructuring charges between $180 million and $200 million, related to the curtailment of the refinery. Alcoa's share will be between $76 million and $84 million, or $0.42 to $0.47 per share.