Alcoa bail out saves close to 900 jobs until 2014

　　ABC reported that a deal between the Federal and State Governments has thrown Victoria's largest exporter a temporary lifeline.

　　Five months ago, the Alcoa aluminium smelter near Geelong faced possible closure and the loss of close to a thousand jobs. The bail out package means the smelter will remain open until July 2014. But beyond that everything depends on the prices of aluminium and the Australian dollar.

　　The Alcoa aluminium smelter at Point Henry near Geelong, southwest of Melbourne is one of the country's oldest plants. It's Victoria's largest exporter and it supports 2,000 families in the region. Like smelters around the world it's also struggled to return a profit over the past four years.

　　With global aluminium prices at historic lows and the Australian dollar riding high, Alcoa raised the prospect of closing the plant earlier this year and instigated a review. Funded by the Australian and Victorian Governments, the bail out package unveiled today guarantees the plant remains open for another 2 years.

　　Mr Alan Cransberg MD of Alcoa said that “I'm a glass half full person. We have a wonderful workforce here. We've got great cooperation. We've got terrific respect in the community and in the governments, as you've seen. I think the world will change. The demand for aluminium is actually very strong. It's growing 6.5% to 7% per year. It's more a supply side issue and that I think will resolve itself over the next couple of years. I don't have a crystal ball but we are very determined to make this successful. We've been in this community for 50 years. We're a large part of this community and we want to be part of this community for a lot longer than 2014.”