Ormet May Eliminate Nearly 1,000 Local Jobs July 28

Ormet can eliminate 1,000 jobs at its Reduction Div in Monroe County by the end of 2009, officials confirmed. In a letter to a commissioner, an Ormet exec said "curtailment of operations & reduction in force is expected to be indefinite." The Ormet official wrote, "The curtailment of operations will result in the loss of up to 833 hourly & 149 salaried positions." It notified commissioners it may shut down up to 6 pot lines at Hannibals facility. The projected date of the first job reduction is Sept. 26, with the balance of cuts happening by Oct. 11, the letter said. In April 2009, Ormet's aluminum supplier, Glencore, backed out of its contract. The move meant Ormet was forced to search for a new supplier, which officials said meant a high cost to the company. Denny Longwell, from the United Steelworkers, said the news is bad for the OH Valley & the U.S. "A lot of this is attributable to foreign competition -- foreign companies running overseas & taking work overseas. Glencore is a U.S. company, but it's a part of that equation in my mind," he said. It has a complex history in the Valley. In Nov. 04, workers started what was to be a 19-mo. strike. At some points then, Monroe County had highest unemployment rate in OH. After a yr on strike, Ormet brought in replacement workers, then picketers became concerned when it began selling off parts of the rolling mill plant as the workers were still on strike. Things appeared to be turning around in July 06 when workers & company came to a contract deal. It wasn't all good news: it said it will only bring back some employees to run the pot lines & the rolling mill will remain shut down. The situation in Monroe County seemed to be improving by Dec.