Bosnia's only aluminium smelter, Aluminij Mostar, was plugged off the power grid four minutes after midnight early Wednesday morning over huge debt it accumulated due to high electricity prices.
Employees have protested and blocked roads in vain over the past few days, demanding that the government finds some solution to save the company, which generates 900 jobs directly but thousands more when considering the contractors and companies it supplies.
RELATED NEWS
The management and workers of Aluminij had warned that shutting the producer out of the power grid would mean an end to the company as this would instantly “freeze up” the liquid aluminium in the electrolytic cells, which could cause explosions and endanger the lives of employees, a company statement said in October 2018.
The statement warned that, if only one of the electrolytic cells would experience a planned shutdown of power, it would cost more than 90,000 Euro to put it into operation again. There are 256 electrolytic cells.
