Alcoa officials were set to cut 250 jobs and shutter half its Rockdale operation Thursday.

The aluminum manufacturer warned employees of the pending layoffs in June.

"There has been no change from what we previously announced," Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery said Wednesday.

In mid-June, Alcoa officials said they would indefinitely close half the smelter's six potlines because of power supply interruptions on the part of Luminant -- the company under contract to supply the plant with electricity.

Alcoa officials said Luminant's power interruptions to the smelter forced the company to buy energy on the regular market during peak consumption periods, causing costs to spike to as much as $4,000 per kilowatt hour.

Luminant officials in June disputed Alcoa's explanation for the layoffs, saying that they were not to blame.

Lowery couldn't be reached late Wednesday to confirm Edmonds' statements on the layoffs.

The Rockdale smelter is one of eight that Alcoa operates across the United States. The facility produces the raw aluminum that Alcoa sends to fabricators and customers around the world.

Under Alcoa's agreement with the union, the aluminum producer may pay supplemental unemployment benefits to all permanent workers who have been at the smelter longer than two years. The duration of those benefits depends on an employee's length of employment, Edmonds said.

Lowery told The Eagle in June that if the power issue wasn't resolved, Alcoa might be forced to close the Rockdale plant. Alcoa would use "contracted, long-term power" to operate the plant's remaining potlines, the company said at the time.

Alcoa gave affected employees 60 days' notice of the changes June 19, under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Edmonds said the union hadn't been included in discussions between Alcoa and Luminant. He said that if the companies aren't able to find a solution, the results could have a devastating impact on the community.