Alcoa will further curtail production at a Canadian smelter as the biggest US aluminum producer faces a shortage of workers amid a dispute with unionised workers and the impact of US tariffs on shipments of the metal.
The Pittsburgh-based company said it will curtail half of the one operating potline’s 138 000 metric ton capacity at its majority-owned Aluminerie de Bécancour smelter in Quebec. Alcoa attributed the cut to recent departures and retirements of salaried employees, who were already working extra shifts since the producer locked out more than 1 000 union employees on January 11.