Alcoa Howmet is laying off 250 workers, or nearly a quarter of its work force, at its Hampton manufacturing plant.

The company announced the move Wednesday, citing an unforeseen sharp decline in orders for domestic gas turbines.

Alcoa Power and Production Inc. spokeswoman Jean Moorman says about 90 percent of workers who will lose their jobs worked in production. The rest are salaried employees.

The layoffs come just five months after the company announced a $25 million expansion of the plant to increase its production capacity. The blades are inside industrial gas turbines, which are used primarily by utilities and large industries to generate power. The expansion was completed earlier this year.

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