ArmInfo.Foil rolling plant "Rusal" in Armenia - "Armenal" - began to reduce capacity with the transfer of employees to part-time jobs, sources told RIA Novosti, familiar with the situation.
The reason, according to the agency's interlocutors, was a decrease in demand for Armenal products due to restrictions on the part of the US, imposed on April 6 against Oleg Deripaska and his controlled companies, including Rusal.
According to sources, the US sanctions led to a decrease in the production of "Armenal" and could lead to a complete shutdown of the plant. According to the information of the plant's employees, the production units have now been switched to idle mode with payment of 2/3 of the average wage. Until the end of September, 184 employees of the production directorate, and later other departments and services will be sent to the forced simple one. In all, the company employs 670 specialists. "Armenal" provides 5% of Armenia's exports and more than half of the country's exports to the United States. Most of the products produced at the plant are destined for consumers in North America and Europe. This information was confirmed by a source close to Rusal. The aluminum company declined to comment.
In August, sources close to Rusal reported to RIA Novosti that the aluminum giant, if the sanctions remain in place, could start saving most of its production capacities in September. At the same time, in August, Rusal began to conserve the electrolysis capacities of the Nadvoitsky aluminum smelter in Karelia, whose products were completely oriented to the American market. The US introduced new sanctions against the Russian Federation in early April, including a number of large Russian businessmen and companies controlled by them, in particular Oleg Deripaska and the controlled En + Group and Rusal, into the so- called "black list" (SDN list). Adding to the list means blocking assets in the US and prohibiting any business with these companies for US citizens, including any transactions with debt and equity instruments. The US Ministry of Finance gave the deadline until October 23 to complete operations with the shares and debt instruments of the company, as well as to withdraw from contracts with Rusal.
