Century curtailment notice

The announcement was made pursuant to the federal Working Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

"We regret the need to issue this notice at this time and fully understand the impact it will have on our employees, in our community and with our customers," commented Michael Bless, President and CEO. "The simple fact is that the recent significant decline in the aluminium price is being driven by unfair trade behaviour over which our industry has no control.

Chinese overcapacity and the improper export of heavily-subsidised Chinese aluminium products have undercut an otherwise viable plant. These issues must be addressed immediately. The strategy we set forth for Hawesville continues to be valid. It is solely the collapse in industry pricing, brought about by this improper trade behaviour, that has put this excellent plant in jeopardy," Bless said.

There are approximately 565 employees at Hawesville. This action does not affect Century's Sebree or Mt. Holly operations.