Alcoa Plans to Close Plants and Cut Jobs.

Alcoa, one of the world's largest aluminum makers, described plans on Tuesday to close plants and slash its work force in an effort to contend with the continued economic downturn. The 120-year-old company, which announced several cost-cutting moves last fall, said it now planned to reduce output by 18 percent this year. It also plans to cut its head count by 13,500 employees, or 13 percent, and expects to eliminate another 1,700 contractor positions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]