Century Aluminum is planning to keep at least a portion of its Hawesville Smelter in western Kentucky open after announcing plans to close the plant in August.
The Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro reports in a statement Wednesday, the company said that the plant will continue operating at about 40 percent capacity after Oct. 24. Company officials had originally planned to shut down the smelter on that date, citing a stagnant aluminum market and low prices for Chinese aluminum.
The company now says it will keep two pot lines operating at the plant.
There are about 565 employees at the Hawesville plant. The company didn't say how many workers would be retained for the two pot lines.
Century Aluminum's spokesman Kenny Barkley couldn't be reached for comment by the newspaper Wednesday.