Century Aluminum shut down creates economic impact in Hancock Co.

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Published: Jun. 27, 2022 at 5:27 PM CDT

HAWESVILLE, Ky. (WFIE) - The idling process began Monday, June 27, for the Century Aluminum facility in Hawesville.

This closure isn’t just hurting the employees losing their jobs, but Mike Baker, Director of Economic Development for the Industrial Foundation, says Hancock County is losing an important piece of their revenue.

”Hopefully this will be a temporary set back. Obviously we count on our industry for financial support for this community. Our industrial base is the economic engine of our community,” said Baker.

Baker says Century Aluminum accounts for nearly $1 million in the county’s tax revenue.

Although Century officials are projecting the shut down to last nine to 12 months, Baker says you never know what the future holds.

“That’s a long time for a major industry to close its doors,” said Baker. “So yes, we’re cautiously optimistic. Again, there’s so many factors impacting inflation, cost of gas, cost of power, and those are the key elements that are driving this development at Century in terms of their power cost.”

Baker says Hancock County has an occupational tax if 1.6%, so taking away paychecks from over 600 people will also cut out some of the money spent at local grocery stores, gas stations and more.

”The type of payroll and the type of wages that are paid, a lot of money is injected into the surrounding area and into our community through the weekly payroll,” said Baker. So, that has a huge impact. It affects businesses all up and down the scale.”

Baker says as of right now, the county does not have a set plan on how they will offset the revenue that they are losing from Century Aluminum’s operation.

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