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Emirates Global Aluminium sheds 4pc workforce amidst slump

Dubai

Emirates Global Aluminium has cut 250 jobs as a result of the merger of its operations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The cuts come amid a global slump in aluminium prices.

The layoffs are part of a restructuring plan designed to help the producer, created by the merger of Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium. The 4 per cent reduction of its headcount affects non-industrial support positions across the group, EGA said.

No Emiratis are included in the retrenchment of the 250 positions. The job cuts are a direct result of the merger that was first announced in 2013 and completed last year.

It combined Dubal’s core operations in Jebel Ali with Emal’s Taweelah facilities, which had a total annual production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes last year, making EGA the fifth-largest aluminium producer in the world by volume.

EGA, jointly owned by Mubadala and the Investment Corporation of Dubai, is spending more than US$5 billion to boost capacity at the Dubai smelter and build an alumina refinery in Taweelah, which it hopes will help it become the world’s fourth-biggest producer within three years.