Slovalco shuts down
Žiar nad Hronom-based aluminum smelter Slovalco will suspend primary aluminum production by the end of September for an unspecified time and will keep only a small recycling line, its shareholders, Norsk Hydro and Penta, decided. They are responding to high electricity prices, falling aluminum prices, and very low compensation of high energy prices from the government. Some 300 of 450 employees will lose jobs. Finance Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) argues that the problems on the aluminum market are pan-European, and Slovakia's options are extremely limited. "The state cannot compensate companies for high costs in the long term," he added. Economy Minister Richard Sulík (SaS) has been criticizing the absence of compensation.
Following the production shutdown, Slovalco will sell the electricity it bought last year at current record prices, earning €160m. It can use the money for a possible production resumption, in 2024 at the earliest. It estimates the costs of this at €100m. The plant’s CEO, Milan Veselý, thinks Slovalco will never resume production.
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