Alcoa aims to reach a deal with Italian labour unions this month March to clear the way for a planned shutdown of its aluminium smelter on the island of Sardinia by mid-year, the U.S. aluminium firm said on Friday.
Its decision to close its Portovesme smelter, part of its efforts to cut global output and costs, has run into opposition from Italy's government, Sardinia's authorities and trade unions.
"At the next meeting on March 26, Alcoa hopes to reach an agreement with unions to identify the best solutions for employees and the involved community and at the same time to carry out an orderly closing of the plant," Alcoa said in a comment to Reuters.
Under Italian law, if a large company closing its business fails to reach an agreement with unions on a layoff procedure, the government would intervene to help soften job cuts.
That would prolong the smelter closure process for Alcoa which has said it would not accept a delay.
Alcoa reiterated on Friday its intention to shut the Portovesme smelter by mid-2012.
Industry Ministry Undersecretary Claudio De Vincenti, who is overseeing efforts to rescue the plant, has asked Alcoa to review the timing, the ministry said after a meeting with Alcoa executives and unions on Thursday.
The FIM-CISL metal workers' union called Alcoa's decision to cut jobs and stop the smelter unacceptable and said after Thursday's meeting that more time was needed for negotiations aimed at keeping "industrial continuity of the plant".
Extended talks would help Rome win time to find new buyers for the smelter and keep jobs.
Labour unions and Sardinian authorities say a shutdown of the plant, which is one of the main employers on the island, would cost about 500 jobs at Alcoa and about 1,000 held by people linked to the smelter and deal a heavy blow to the local economy.
Alcoa has granted access to information about the plant to three potential investors - commodities group Glencore, investment company Klesch and Austria's Hammerer Aluminium Industries.
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