Alcoa Inc. (AA) announce yesterday that they plan to cut 6,700 jobs worldwide over the next year as part of a plan to boost profits.
The aluminum maker also stated it will form a joint venture with Sapa Group Of Norway's Orkla ASA that would combine its soft alloy extrusion business with Sapa's Profiles extruded aluminum business.
Currently, Alcoa's soft alloy extrusion business has about 6,400 employees at 22 plants in eight countries. Of those plants, three will not be included in the venture and will be sold. They are located in Warren, Ohio, Tifton, Ga. and Plant City, Fla. The job cuts represent about 5 percent of the work force for Alcoa, which has 129,000 employees in 44 countries.
According to this NYTimes.com article, the plant closings and consolidations are expected to save Alcoa approximately $125 million annually before taxes, according to the company.
''Through the first three quarters of 2006, we have generated more earnings than in any full year in our company's history, and in order to continue to move forward, we now need to take the difficult but necessary restructuring steps that will continue to maximize profitability across the company,'' Alcoa Chairman and CEO Alain Belda said in a statement.
Read the full article here.
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