In a July 27 letter to a commissioner, an Ormet official said the "curtailment of operations and reduction in force is expected to be indefinite."

The Ormet official wrote, "The curtailment of operations will result in the loss of up to approximately 833 hourly and 149 salaried positions."

Hannibal native Matt Corbett said as long as he can remember, Ormet has been a source of work for almost everyone he knows in town.

"It's hard work, but it was honest work and you got decent pay for it. I grew up on Ormet. My dad worked there for 40 years almost," said Corbett.

Corbett worked as a carbon setter at Ormet for two years, but just quit in May to pursue a nursing degree.

"There was a time when it was a guaranteed job, but with the economy -- nothing's guaranteed I guess," said Corbett.

Hearing that hundreds of workers could be cut and up to six potlines could shut down, Corbett said his heart goes out to those people.

"There are a lot of people that really do depend on that. They have kids and homes and especially this close -- I mean, it hasn't been that long since the strike was over with and now this. There are still people trying to recover from that," said Crobett.

If Ormet loses nearly 1,000 and shuts the potlines down, the blow to Hannibal, Monroe County and the entire Ohio Valley would be huge. Area schools would lose much-needed tax revenue, and what was once a so-called guaranteed job for hundreds will be gone.

"I'm worried about the future of my kids in the Valley. I’ve got two kids. One is going be 18 before too long. Where's he going work?” questioned Dewayne Yost of New Martinsville.

The warn notice sent to the United Steelworkers said the cuts are expected to come between September 26 and sometime in October.

According to Ormet's web site, the aluminum producer employs about 1,000 people.

Previous Stories: July 28, 2009: Ormet May Eliminate Nearly 1,000 Local Jobs