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:
Atli B. Gudmundsson, Senior Manager -- Corporate Finance, Landsbankinn hf.
Steingrimur Helgason, Director -- Corporate Finance, Landsbankinn hf.
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Forward-looking statements are statements about future, not past, events and involve certain important risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "forecast" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "might," or "may." Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements with respect to: the future financial and operating performance of Century and its subsidiaries, including the Company; future earnings, operating results and liquidity; our business objectives and strategies; negotiations with the labor union; and our plans and expectations with respect to the lockout and the impact of the lockout on the future financial and operating performance of Century and its subsidiaries, including the Company. More information about the risks, uncertainties and assumptions affecting the Company can be found in the risk factors and forward-looking statements cautionary language contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim, any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of future events or circumstances.