Ormet Issues Warn Notices to 250 Employees, Warns of Possible Shutdown

Ormet Corporation ("Ormet") announced today it is issuing WARN notices to 250 employees at its Burnside, Louisiana alumina refinery primarily due to the already reduced operating level at Ormet's Hannibal, Ohio aluminum smelting operation. The Company continues to actively pursue alternatives with the State of Ohio and AEP to mitigate the impact on Ormet of the recent PUCO rulings in the AEP Electric Security Plan (ESP) rate case finalized on August 8, 2012. The sizable impact of this ruling and the dramatic increase of the cost of electricity in Ohio over the past several years, in addition to the current aluminum market, have forced Ormet to significantly downsize its operations while exploring strategic alternatives. "We are still hopeful that we can all find short and longer term solutions to the substantial increase in our power costs and save these jobs," said Mike Tanchuk, Ormet's CEO. Separately, Ormet also announced that it has retained Evercore Partners to assist the Company as it continues to explore strategic alternatives.