Alcoa will cut 6,700 workers

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ALUMINUM producer Alcoa Inc said it will shed 6,700 jobs as part of a restructuring program designed to improve profits and efficiency.
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The Pittsburgh-based company also said on Tuesday it agreed to join its soft alloy extrusion business with the Sapa Group, part of Norway's Orkla ASA, in a joint venture the two firms intend to take public.

1 z* [1 f, ~7 C9 Y& p# i/ }2 L+ wThe new company, which will be majority owned by Orkla and operated by Sapa, is expected to be created by the end of the first quarter, pending government approval.

Alcoa's soft alloy extrusion business has about 6,400 employees at 22 plants in eight countries. It had shipments of 585,000 metric tons and revenue of US$2.1 billion in 2005. An additional three soft alloy plants not included in the venture will be sold, the company said.
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8 U( k7 l. h1 PSapa's smaller soft alloy business employs about 6,000 people at 18 facilities in 12 countries and shipped 275,000 metric tons for revenue of US$1.3 billion.