Alcoa will permanently close its 269,000-metric ton Warrick Operations smelter by the end of the first quarter 2016, the company said in a corporate news release.
The move will affect 600 jobs. A September Courier & Press report listed 1,900 employees at the facility, which sits along Indiana 66 between Newburgh and Yankeetown.
The rolling mill and power plant at Warrick Operations will continue to operate.
The company noted that "in 2015, the Midwest transaction aluminum price dropped approximately 30 percent, and the Alumina Price Index fell approximately 40 percent."
In a statement issued after news release, John Martin, Alcoa's Vice President of U.S. Smelting Operations, said: "Although our employees have worked diligently through these challenging market conditions, the aluminum smelter at Warrick Operations is no longer competitive. The price of aluminum in the last year alone dropped about 30 percent. Our focus now is on our employees, and we will be working with our union, community and other stakeholders to help minimize the impact during this very difficult transition."
Alcoa opened the smelting operation in April 1956.
According to Alcoa's website, Warrick Operations is one of the largest aluminum smelting and fabricating facilities in the world.
The first molten metal was poured in June 1960. The facility is located on 300 acres with more than 9,000 acres surrounding the plant site.