Hydro’s European recycling operations in Spain, France, Germany, and the UK will restart this week, the aluminum maker indicated in an update.
All four recycling facilities (Recyclers Azuqueca, Spain; Lucé France, Rackwitz, Germany and Deeside, UK) had suspended operations to contain the spread of COVID-19 late last month. Hydro’s US recycling facilities under Henderson and Commerce are operating at reduced capacity because of weak demand, the company said in a statement.
Hydro also indicated it was postponing the ramp-up at its Husnes facility to Q3 2020, although its primary metal production will run normally. The company, however, reduced its rolled product output when demand slipped on the heels of automotive facility shutdowns across Europe and the US.
The company noted around half of its extruder production facilities were operating at lower levels, while 30pc were running at usual production levels. Hydro has suspended activities in 20pc of its extruder facilities, which are expected to reopen this week.
The contracted activity and suspensions have resulted in around 2,700 employees being temporarily laid off.