|
Pechiney Rolled Products LLC of Ravenswood, the former Kaiser Aluminum plant, will
lay off 200 employees by the end of the year. The largest employer in Jackson
County, has a number of employees from Calhoun, Wirt and Roane County.
The layoffs confirm speculation about problems with the operation. Some employees
have told The Hur Herald they expect the operation to be shut down and moved
abroad.
The cuts follow a $9 million restructuring plan aimed at making the plant more
profitable. "We are not in a profitable situation," said VP of Operations, Todd
Ritchie.
The 17% cut comes from a workforce of more than 1,100 employees. The company
employees about 35,000 people worldwide.
The loss adds to about 5,000 jobs which have been eliminated in the region in the
past 24 months, many of them to globalization and trade agreements like GATT and
NAFTA. An auto parts plant which employed 200-300 people, recently closed in
Jackson County and moved to Mexico.
|
