The federal resources minister, Madeleine King, says she is “extremely disappointed” at the closure of a major alumina refinery in her electorate, with about 800 job losses expected, as the opposition criticises the government over what it has labelled “an embarrassing failure” on industry policy. US alumina giant Alcoa announced on Tuesday it would close its 60-year-old refinery south of Perth, where hundreds of workers were expected to lose their jobs. The company said in a statement that it would shortly begin a “phased reduction” of its workforce, slashing numbers from about 800 employees to approximately 250 in the third…
