Global forces hurting chances for Intalco restart

As Alcoa’s Intalco Works near Ferndale moves closer to idling its aluminum smelting operations, global market forces continue to paint a bleak picture on the chances of restarting it anytime soon.

On Thursday, Nov. 19, Alcoa filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification that the company could lay off 465 employees at Ferndale and 415 in Wenatchee. The WARN filing means the company is giving 60 days notice before it can start laying off workers, putting the start time at Jan. 18. Around 118 employees are expected to be retained for the Ferndale casthouse operations, which focus on specialty products.