Alcan announces Additional Restructuring Measures and the Sale of Glass and Pharmatech Packaging assets 2001/12/19

Montreal, Canada — Alcan Inc. today announced additional components of the restructuring program outlined on October 17, 2001, with a series of plant closures and divestments. The Company also announced its intention to sell its glass and Pharmatech packaging assets. Under its restructuring program, Alcan will close, within the next three months, two facilities in Canada and one facility in the United States. In addition, the Company will divest its extrusion operations in Malaysia and Thailand. The details of the restructuring are as follows: Alcan's foil fabrication plant located in St-Laurent, Quebec will close as of February 2002 with all operations transferred to the Company's foil fabrication plant in Toronto, Ontario. Twenty employees will be affected by this closure. Alcan will consolidate its Weston, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario food flexible packaging plants under one roof at the existing Weston plant. A workforce reduction of 30 employees will involve both salaried and hourly employees. Alcan will close its food flexible plant in Carson, California, which employs 40 people. Alcan will divest its extrusion operations in Malaysia. The divestment process is currently in the due diligence phase, with expected completion of the sale in the first quarter of 2002. This facility currently employs 220 people. Alcan will also divest its extrusion operations in Thailand. The due diligence has been completed and the sale and purchase agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the year. The divestment is expected to be completed by the end of February 2002. This facility currently employs 240 employees. These measures are part of the Company's October restructuring announcement and five to seven percent overall workforce reductions. Sale of Packaging Assets As part of the Company's program aimed at maximizing value, Alcan Inc. will sell several businesses in the United States and China. The details of these measures include: Alcan has signed a letter of intent to sell its glass packaging operations in Park Hills, Missouri; Mays Landing, Williamstown and Millville (two plants), New Jersey, as well as the Company's 46%-owned joint venture in Beijing, China to Stölzle Oberglas, an Austrian packaging manufacturer. Alcan today has entered into an agreement to sell its two Pharmatech rubber stopper and aluminum seals operations located in Salisbury, Maryland to Helvoet Pharma, a worldwide manufacturer of pharmaceutical closures with headquarters in Belgium. Alcan is a multinational, market-driven company and a global leader in aluminum and specialty packaging with annual revenues of approximately US$13 billion. With world-class operations in primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum as well as flexible and specialty packaging, Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs for innovative solutions and service. Alcan employs approximately 48,000 people and has operating facilities in 36 countries. Statements made in this press release which describe the Company's intentions, expectations or predictions may be forward-looking statements within the meaning statements involve risk and uncertainty and that the Company's results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Reference should be made to the most recent Form 10-Q for a summary of major risk factors. -30- Media Contact: Marc Osborne +1 (514) 848-1342 Investor Contact: Michael Hanley +1 (514) 848-8368

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