The fluctuations in the electronic charge density of metallic clusters in response to an approaching electron suppress the single-ionization channel. This conclusion is made on the basis of numerical calculations for the total ionization cross sections using the random-phase approximation with exchange to describe the particle-hole (de)excitations. The general trends can be understood by means of the Thomas-Fermi model. The present theory explains, for the first time, the behavior of the measured total ionization cross section for C₆₀. The interplay between finite size and nonlocal screening effects is studied by tracing the changes in the ionization cross sections for Li clusters with an increasing cluster radius.