Alcoa to shutter West Australia alumina refinery, take $890M charge

[Aluminum Maker Alcoa Plans To Cut 15,000 Jobs]
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images News

Alcoa (NYSE:AA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AA]) said late Monday it will permanently close [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20248113-alcoa-announces-closure-of-kwinana-refinery-also-updates-third-quarter-2025-outlook] its Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia, citing the age of the facility, scale and operating costs, market conditions, and bauxite grade challenges.

The decision followed the curtailment of production at the refinery in June last year as the company looked to cut costs.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AA]) said it expects to record ~$890 million in restructuring and related charges - including $623 million after-tax, or $2.41/share - related to the permanent closure, including ~$375 million of non-cash asset impairment charges.

The refinery's current workforce of ~220 employees will be reduced during 2026 as the closure progresses while some will remain to help prepare the site for future redevelopment, the company said.

Kwinana was Alcoa's (AA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AA]) first alumina refinery in Australia and operated for 60 years; before operations started to be curtailed last year, it employed ~860 workers and 320 contractors.

The closure of the Kwinana refinery and its 2.2 million tons of annual capacity will lower Alcoa's (AA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AA]) annual global consolidated refining capacity to 11.7 million metric tons.

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