ALUMINA Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) said yesterday that it is laying off its temporary staff corps of 250, with further assessments to decide its total workforce needs as aluminium demand falls worldwide.

The National Workers’ Union (NWU), which represents the temporary workers, said that jobs would be cut over a six-month period, beginning immediately.

In a statement from the St Elizabeth bauxite plant, Managing Director Alberto Fabrini said the economic situation required the company to take immediate action as the global crisis seriously affected the world aluminium industry with a consequent decline in production and demand.

Alpart said the company is being forced to cut its production volume by 50 per cent from 1.65 million tonnes starting today, as a consequence of the contraction in world demand.

“The staff cuts will be in stages,” an Alpart spokesman confirmed. “As the new production levels come onstream, we will adjust and reduce staff.”

Fabrini said that Alpart had already introduced several measures to further reduce costs, improve efficiency and maintain the operations through the difficult period facing the company.

“However, after thorough consideration of all the factors by the Alpart board of directors, the decision was taken that a reduced production volume was necessary,” he said.

Alpart is in dialogue with its employees, the unions and the Government regarding the market situation, the statement said.

“The decision is not a surprise,”NWU president Vincent Morrison told the Observer.

“The good thing is that they have been talking,” he added, saying that the company had no choice and more layoffs could follow depending on the state of the world market.

“We hope things will stabilise,” said Morrison. “What is happening now is a layoff phase, it is not a redundancy.”

Alpart, owned by UC Rusal of Russia and Hydro Aluminum of Norway, has a total workforce of 250 temporary and approximately 926 permanent workers.

In the meantime, Fabrini said that the focus will be on running operations efficiently and safely at the new production levels although further capacity adjustments could not be ruled out.

Last week the Pittsburgh-based alumina giant Alcoa announced 13,500 job cuts worldwide, but the Jamalco bauxite refinery in Clarendon – which it owns equally with the Government – was not immediately affected.