The Aluminum Company of America announced Thursday that it will close its St. Croix alumina refinery at the end of January, putting 350 people out of work.
Officials from Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc., parent company of St. Croix Alumina, said in a press release that the company would suspend operations at the 600,000 ton-per-year refinery by Jan. 31 of next year because its output was not immediately needed.
Company officials said 270 hourly and 80 salaried employees would be laid off. Another 25 will be kept on to maintain the facility.
Whem the plant was shut down because of market conditions in 1995, the company phased out 390 of 450 jobs and placed the plant on "standby." It reopened in December 1997 and is expected to produce about 450,000 tons of alumina this year for Alcoa-operated smelters in the United States, according to the company’s release.
"Based on supply available from the company's other refineries, the output from St. Croix is not needed at this time," company officials said. "Future production from St. Croix will be evaluated in light of internal and external supply commitments."
Sen. Gregory Bennerson said the loss of jobs will be unfortunate, but didn't come as a "total surprise" because of the current market for alumina.
But with the economy on St. Croix, Bennerson said, "this isn’t news we like to hear."
St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president Carmelo Rivera also called the closure "bad news" for the Big Island. He said it’s one more reason why St. Croix’s private sector needs to be nurtured.
"We must grow the economy and expand the job base so we’re not so exposed when there is a closure," he said.
Rivera said he hopes some of the laid-off workers will be able to pick up jobs next door at the Hovensa oil refinery’s $600 million coker project. Construction on the coker began in June and is expected to be completed in 2002. Manpower needs will increase over a 10-month period and peak at about 2,000 workers, Hovensa officials have said.
With more than 180 operating locations in 28 countries, Alcoa is the world's largest aluminum company. It is also the world's largest alumina producer. Alumina, a white powdery material, is an intermediate product produced from bauxite ore that is used to make aluminum.
The St. Croix plant refines bauxite, aluminum's principal raw material, into alumina through a chemical process.
Last month, financial experts forecast an alumina surplus of 700,000 to 800,000 tons for next year, leading to speculation that at least one refinery would be shutdown, according to Reuters. Prices for alumina had fallen to around $180 to $200 a ton in October from a 10-year high of around $450 at the end of March.
