Freeport-McMoRan Norwich plant closure
Freeport-McMoRan Copper Products (Freeport), also known as Phelps Dodge, plans a Freeport-McMoRan Norwich plant closure at its copper rod facility due to a sharp business downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision affects the company’s rod and refining operations at the Connecticut site, and you can learn more about the company at https://www.fcx.com.
According to a notice that Plant Manager James Hodson filed with the state Department of Labor, the company expects to permanently lay off about 117 employees starting in August. The plant will release around 90 employees between August 17 and August 30, and then it will lay off the remaining 27 employees during a second 14‑day period that follows the first.
Reasons for the decision and future operations
Hodson wrote that Phelps Dodge Industries Inc. reviewed its Norwich operations because of the dramatic downturn in business and the wider economic uncertainty caused by Covid‑19. After this review, the company decided that the Norwich rod and refining operations no longer remain economically viable, so management chose to close the plant.
In a separate statement, Freeport explained that it expects to gain efficiencies by concentrating on its other copper rod mills in El Paso, Texas, and Miami, Arizona. Those facilities will continue to serve customers and help the company streamline production across its U.S. rod operations. More details on Freeport’s North American operations are available at https://www.fcx.com.
