United Steelworkers employed in an Alcoa plant expressed much relief as New York extends a low-cost hydropower deal to keep their plant open.
MASSENA, NY—On Thursday, New York Governor Cuomo announced that a contract for low-cost hydropower would be extended for seven years to an Alcoa smelting plant.
The move maintains 450 jobs that were in jeopardy of being lost if power prices had risen.
“The new agreement, between Alcoa and the New York Power Authority, extends the previous contract, which expires at the end of the month, through 2026,” the Governor’s office stated on its website. “That contract had included the protection of 145 jobs that are now supported by Arconic, which separated from Alcoa in 2016 but maintained operations at the same site.”
The new deal follows a 2015 deal that invested $70 million of state subsidies into the plant.
Related:
— Cuomo Reaches $70 Million Deal to Keep Open Alcoa Plant in Upstate New York
