Bauxite job cuts: Noranda to slash 190 positions

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation has announced it will be moving ahead with job cuts as it grapples with several challenges including the insistence of the Jamaican Government to collect the full bauxite levy.

A press release issued by the company’s head office in Tennessee, United States says 190 jobs will be cut.

The release it did not specify how many of these jobs would be cut from its St Ann plant in Jamaica, although it said there would be cuts here.

It said the challenges necessitating the job cuts include the idling of two pot lines at New Madrid, Missouri, an unfavourable arbitration panel ruling regarding the bauxite production levy in Jamaica, and the bankruptcy filing by our principal third party bauxite customer.

It says while the announced actions are difficult, they are a necessary response to the company’s current challenges as it proactively pursues other measures to reduce costs in the upstream business.