Refrigerant manufacturer Chemours is to lay off 400 workers worldwide, roughly 5% of its workforce, following losses of $47m since its spin off.
Described by the company as part of ongoing efforts to streamline and simplify the structure of the organisation worldwide and to reduce costs, the redundancies, which will be completed in 2016, are expected to save the company $50m per year.
While Chemours’ Fluoroproducts business remains strong, its Titanium Technologies and Chemical Solutions divisions are performing less well. Fluoroproducts segment sales in the third quarter were $575m, flat versus the prior-year quarter, but with EBITDA up $89m, an increase of 27%, versus the prior-year quarter.
Around half the announced redundancies are at the Niagara Falls site of Chemours’, Reactive Metals Solutions, its sodium and lithium producing business, which is to close by the end of next year.
