Declining Aluminium Industry Sale Force Aleris Duffel into Major Restructuring
Duffel, 15 April 2009. – Aleris Duffel announced today that it intends to reduce its personnel by 770 people. A special Works Council meeting was called today to explain the intention for the collective dismissal. “In January, we announced that we were forced to reduce the number of personnel at the Duffel location by 75 personnel, "says Managing Director Ralf Zimmermann. “Today, we are forced to face the fact that those intended measures have proven inadequate to reverse the negative aluminium industry sale trend and that we have no choice but to take more far-reaching measures. We are in the midst of a deep recession, the likes of which we have not seen in generations. Aleris Duffel has not been spared the hard blows,” Zimmermann said. All of the aluminium industry segments in which Aleris Duffel is active in have seen dramatic declines in production volumes. The measures are being taken on the belief that there will be no material improvement in 2009. A far-reaching restructuring of Aleris Duffel is therefore unavoidable. In structural terms, the following measures are being considered: (a) strong reduction in the extrusion activities at Duffel, with Aleris concentrating in the future on aviation and other high-technology aluminium products, and (b), reducing the numbers of personnel, both salaried and hourly personnel across the entire site, in order to structurally reduce costs. “Aleris management is convinced that these purposeful measures are crucial if the company is to survive in the short term,” Zimmermann says. “For the long term, the objective is to improve the cost structure to the point where profitability of the Duffel site returns to a consistently high level. In order to limit the number of dismissals, we will – in consultation with the social partners – explore all options such as temporary unemployment, shorttime work, etc.,” Zimmermann continues. In view of its intention to reduce the number of personnel, the management of Aleris Duffel, by means of this announcement, is starting the legally mandated procedure of information and consultation with its personnel. About Aleris Duffel The Aleris Duffel site, located in the industrial zone in Duffel (province of Antwerp), produces high added value rolled and extrusion products for all automotive, construction and engineering applications. Aleris International, Inc., a world leader in the manufacture of aluminum products, bought the location from its previous owner, Corus plc, in 2006. The head office of Aleris International, Inc. is located in Beachwood, Ohio, United States. The company has more than 47 locations worldwide. Note to the editor: for more information, please contact:
ALERIS, Bart Buyst, HR Director, tel.: 015/30 20 95, e-mail: bart.buyst@aleris.com.
www.aleris-duffel.com
