Alcoa to Close Fusina Smelter in Italy

Alcoa AA announced today that it intends to permanently close its Fusina (Venice, Italy) primary aluminum smelter, which has been curtailed since June 2010. The planned closure will reduce Alcoa's global smelting capacity of 4.2 million metric tons per year by 44,000 metric tons. The intended closure of Fusina's 44,000 metric tons is in addition to the 460,000 metric tons of operating smelting capacity that Alcoa previously announced was under review. “The underlying conditions that led Alcoa to curtail the Fusina smelter in 2010 have not fundamentally changed,” said Alcoa Global Primary Products President Bob Wilt. “Global aluminum prices remain weak and we must take action to maintain Alcoa's competitiveness.” Alcoa will work with affected communities to explore ways to redevelop the closed smelter and will consult with local unions to put appropriate social support in place for the employees impacted by the closure. Alcoa currently employs 14 people at the curtailed smelter. The Alcoa Fusina rolling mill operates separately from the smelter and is not affected by this announcement. Total restructuring-related charges for second quarter 2013 as a result of the closure are expected to be between $30 million and $35 million after-tax, or about $0.03 per share, of which approximately 50 percent is non-cash.