Northwest Alloys Will Lay Off 130 Loss Called ‘Devastating’ To Addy Area Economy

About 130 employees of Northwest Alloys magnesium smelter north of Spokane will lose their jobs beginning in August because of a glut of metal and slowdown in orders, officials said Monday.

E.L. Sandman, president of the Addy, Wash., company, said that aluminum companies have an oversupply of magnesium used to produce aluminum alloy in beverage cans and other products. Aluminum Company of America, which owns Northwest Alloys, is the primary customer of magnesium manufactured at the Stevens County plant.

Northwest Alloys employs 450 people. That will drop to 320 people when layoffs are completed in early 1997, said company spokesman Ozzie Wilkinson.

“You talk about an impact to the economy, it’s devastating,” said Jim Wallace, a counselor at the Colville Job Service office.

Wallace said Northwest Alloys has some of the best jobs in the county, with wages ranging from $10 to $25 an hour with benefits. Employees are not represented by a union.

Wilkinson said the company doesn’t know why orders have fallen recently, but increasing production of cheap metal from China and Eastern Europe may be the culprit.

“People have overstocked,” he said. “There’s more metal becoming available and it displaces U.S. metal.”

Employees were given notice of the layoffs two weeks ago, Wilkinson said. Northwest Alloys did not plan to issue a public announcement until news reporters began making inquiries.

Northwest Alloys will reduce magnesium production by lowering output from existing furnaces rather than shutting them down as the company has done in the past.

The company laid off employees in 1991 and in 1993, when 76 people lost their jobs. Some were hired back.

Company officials said employees affected by the layoff will receive severance pay based on their years of employment.

In addition, Job Service, Trico Economic Development District, Northeast Washington Rural Resources, Colville Campus of Community Colleges of Spokane and others will provide placement assistance and other services to employees.

The company also is reapplying for the federal Trade Readjustment Act, which pays retraining and career placement costs when foreign competitors cause the loss of U.S. jobs.

However, finding a job that pays as well in the county will be difficult for most workers.

Employers who pay as much as Northwest Alloys are rare, and those who do tend to be in shrinking industries, said JoAnn Hawley, operations manager at Job Service.

“They’re not likely to jump into timber because eventually the same thing could happen,” she said.

, DataTimes