Alcoa to implement layoffs at East plant Monday

MASSENA — On Monday, 113 aluminum workers will not be returning to their jobs at Alcoa's Massena East plant as the company begins implementing a round of layoffs it announced in late March.

While the job cuts are not good news, officials said that the number of workers being laid off is far lower than the 170 employees the company originally announced it would eliminate.

Alcoa decided to idle its Massena East smelter temporarily in May because of rock-bottom aluminum prices and a lagging global economy.

To keep its contract for low-cost hydropower with the New York Power Authority, Alcoa had agreed to retain about 250 workers at Massena East during the cutback, letting go only 170 employees until market conditions improved and the plant could be restarted.

The planned layoff could not legally take effect until this week because of the company's obligations under the Warn Act, a federal law that ensures advance notice of mass layoffs.

Alcoa spokeswoman Laurie A. Marr said late last week the company was able to offer retirement packages or voluntary separation options to enough employees to dramatically lower the number of workers the company had to lay off.

United Steelworkers Local 450A President Richard M. Orton said Friday that only 88 union laborers will be laid off fully, while 50 will be able to participate in a rotating layoff that will allow them all to keep their jobs.

"We came up with a shared work schedule to lessen the impact on the workers where 50 people will be working on and off," Mr. Orton said.

Half of those rotating workers will go to work Monday and stay at the plant for one month while the other 25 will go on layoff. Next month, they will switch.

Mr. Orton said the United Steelworkers worked out an arrangement with the state Department of Labor that will allow these workers to trade months, drawing unemployment on the months when they are laid off and regaining their wages and benefits when they are at the plant.

"It's a real nice concept," Mr. Orton said.

"Some of the younger members were able to stay in the plant that way. We really want to make it work."

Ms. Marr said seven salaried positions at Massena East also will be cut, though those employees will stay on at the plant until the end of the month.

Union workers remaining at the plant still have plenty to do to get the potlines ready to restart once Alcoa sees demand for its products rise and market prices for aluminum rebound.

"The employees have been really busy since May getting the plant ready for restart," Ms. Marr said.

"Alcoa has every intention of restarting the plant and they are working to make sure we're ready to do that as quickly as possible."

Both Ms. Marr and Mr. Orton said the most important thing is turning those potlines back on and bringing people back to work — something Alcoa will have to do to keep its long-term NYPA power contract.

"We're hopeful that the world will start consuming aluminum again and that it's profitable to make aluminum again so they can restart the plant and we can get back to work," Mr. Orton said.