Alcoa Corporation announced on its official website on December 13 that it will close its Wenatchee aluminum smelter in the state of Washington, involving an aluminum smelting capacity of 146,000 tons.

This smelter has been fully idle since 2015. The closure was expected to start immediately in order to prepare for the potential redevelopment of the Wenatchee smelter.

The Wenatchee smelter currently has 18 employees, some of whom will continue to help in the demolition and reconstruction work.