Company Will Begin Lockout of USW on May 12, 2015
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - May 12, 2015) - Century Aluminum of Kentucky General Partnership (the "Company"), a subsidiary of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) ("Century"), today announced that members of USW Local 9423 at its Hawesville, Kentucky smelter rejected the Company's modified Last, Best, and Final ("LBF") offer Monday night, May 11, 2015. As a result, a lockout is scheduled to commence at 8 a.m. CDT on May 12, 2015. The lockout will allow other personnel to maintain uninterrupted plant operations, which is required in the continuous-flow operation of an aluminum smelter. The smelter is fully prepared for the lockout and is expected to continue to operate safely and at full production.
"Unfortunately the members rejected the contract, which leaves us with no choice but to lock out union represented workers," said John Hoerner, Sr. Vice-President, North America Operations. "We negotiated in earnest for greater than three months and reached three agreements with the union's negotiating committee, but all were rejected by the membership. In essence, we are out of options."
The Company's final offer included pay increases of more than 14 percent during the five-year period, provided fixed costs for health insurance, lower out-of-pocket maximum, and new language on overtime.
A dedicated website -- www.cakycbaupdate.com -- was developed to keep employees, families, community members and others apprised of the latest developments relating to the Hawesville facility. None of Century's other operations or facilities are affected by the lockout of Local 9423 in Hawesville and Century expects its cash operating costs for the second quarter of 2015 to be in-line with the estimates previously provided.
About Century Aluminum
Century Aluminum Company owns primary aluminum capacity in the United States and Iceland. Century's corporate offices are located in Chicago, IL.
Visit www.centuryaluminum.com for more information.
Certified Advisors for the First North market of the OMX Nordic Exchange Iceland hf. for Global Depositary Receipts in Iceland:
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Steingrimur Helgason, Director -- Corporate Finance, Landsbankinn hf.