Kaiser Aluminum Files For Bankruptcy

Yahoo News ^ | Tue Feb 12, 9:29 AM ET | staff

[shrinkermd]

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Kaiser Aluminum Corp. on Tuesday said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware along with its operating subsidiary, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp.

Kaiser said it expects to get $300 million of debtor-in-possession financing from Bank of America on Tuesday.

Kaiser said that weak aluminum prices and business conditions amid a broad economic slowdown was further exacerbated by asbestos litigation and growing medical and pension costs for retirees.

Kaiser missed a debt payment of $25.5 million in January. Sources said it was unlikely to have enough cash to pay about $174 million in principal to its bondholders when this comes due on Friday.

Shares of Kaiser closed at 51 cents on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites).

[shrinkermd]

More proof that we are in a debt repudiation depression and not in a simple, inventory recession.

[Pistias]

When do you think this melt down will stop?
exacerbated by asbestos litigation and growing medical and pension costs for retirees.

It'll be awhile.

[Billy_bob_bob]

This is not good news for the Spokane area. Kaiser Aluminum was one of the big employers around here. Maybe we'll get lucky and some other firm will buy up the mills and start making aluminum again. More likely we'll just import all of our aluminum, like we import everything else. This is not a healthy trend.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Gotta wonder which jobs we want to preserve. The jobs in the aluminum & other base metals industries or the jobs in finished goods which use and upgrade these products...

[Revelation 911]

That makes Alcoa a monopoly - do you think they will get handled ala Microsoft or do they grease the wheels of politics.

[Double U]

I wonder who their auditor was?

[Centurion2000]

Good grief. When do you think this melt down will stop?

I don't think it will.

[YaYa123]

Damn!!! Where are we going to get our hats?

[GuillermoX]

Blame it on what the article blames it on...for every worker in the metals (steel) industry, there are 6 retirees that have to be supported.

85% of steel the USA uses is made here. If we restricted imports, prices would skyrocket due to the lack of supply.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Correct. I had not heard that Kaiser was connected to asbestos liability. But, given the way the plaintiff's bar has targeted this issue, I'm surprised there are any base-industries in the US not on the asbestos list.

[tracer]

Buy up the tin foil now and resell to all of our friends. I wonder what ad time costs on the Art Bell program......

[Salvation]

I had heard that Kaiser was not opening any new medical sites a couple years ago. Now I know why.

Or (dunb question time) is Kaiser Permanente connected with Kaiser at all? I thought that was how Kaiser Permanente started.

[boris]

Aircraft are one of the big consumers of aluminum. Boeing is not building many new airliners these days. Hence bad times in the aluminum business.

--Boris

[rollin]

The fall of 2004.

[cynicom]

Go to Fl, count the retired heavy industry union members living very well, auto, steel etc etc. Coincidence, perhaps but facts are facts. In this world wide trade business, the committments made by industry cannot be met.