Aluminium giant cuts 110 Swiss jobs

Sheets of aluminium at Alcan's plant in Sierre Keystone

The Canadian aluminium company Alcan has announced plans to cut a total of 410 jobs at its plants in Switzerland and Germany.

It said rising raw material costs, unfavourable changes in the euro-dollar exchange rate and tough market conditions in central Europe led to the decision.

Alcan, the second-largest aluminium company in the world, said it was integrating extrusion activities at its sites in Singen in Germany and Sierre in canton Valais to improve efficiency.

The Montreal-based company also plans to consolidate its automotive structures and composite operations into the Singen facility.

It said the measures will affect about 300 people at Singen and 110 people at Sierre.

The firm has more than 2,200 employees at its engineered products site in Germany and almost 1,300 in Switzerland.

Social consequences

An Alcan spokesman said it was too early to say whether the job cuts would result in a charge to earnings. He also did not have immediate details about cost savings expected from the measures.

“In Europe, Alcan, like all manufacturers, is faced with increasing international competition and challenging market conditions,” said Michel Jacques, president and CEO of Alcan Engineered Products.

Jacques said the announced measures would increase the company’s ability to deliver competitive products to customers.

He also acknowledged that Alcan had been present in Switzerland for many years. “We are very conscious of our responsibilities and we intend to manage the social and human consequences of these critically important actions in the most sensitive way.”

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

In October 2000 Alcan merged with the Swiss Algroup, otherwise known as Alusuisse. Formally it was a takeover.
Alcan thereby became the second-largest aluminium company in the world. The American company Alcoa remains the largest.
Alcan employs 70,000 people in 55 countries.
The plant in Valais currently has 1,280 workers.