Lanxess to slash 270 jobs, cease NBR production at Sarnia
ERJ staff report (DS)
Leverkusen, Germany -- Lanxess AG has said it will cease production of nitrile rubber (NBR) and streamline its butyl rubber operations at its plant in Sarnia, Ontario. The moves will result in 270 job losses. Lanxess expects savings of around euro 5 million each year from the moves, but will incur one-time costs of euro 20 million
The NBR unit at Sarnia will close in the second quarter of this year. Lanxess said it was built over 60 years ago, and Lanxess does not list the capacity of the unit. About 90 of the job losses at Sarnia are associated with this closure. Werner Breuers, a member of the Lanxess' management board, said, "Our modernised plant in La Wantzenau near Strasbourg is [big enough] to take over the entire NBR production from Sarnia at much more competitive conditions, thanks to the work that has been carried out to realign the French site. The project was successfully concluded in 2006"
Lanxess began work in 2006 on expanding its butyl rubber production in Sarnia. The second expansion stage is currently under way. Until 2010 LANXESS plans to increase its total worldwide butyl rubber capacity to 280,000 metric tons per year. Lanxess has so far invested around EUR 75 million in its worldwide butyl rubber production.
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Press release from Lanxess
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