August 4, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
WILMINGTON, Del. – Halloween won’t be about treats for a number of Chemours employees in upstate New York as the DuPont spinoff plans its first round of layoffs for Oct. 31 as it begins to wind down operations at the Niagara Falls, N.Y. site.
The new year won’t be too much of a reason for the remaining employees to celebrate as a second wave of layoffs are expected on Dec. 31, Buffalo Business First reported this morning.
In December Chemours, the world’s largest maker of titanium dioxides, announced it intended to lay off about 400 employees and contractors, which amounted to about 5 percent of its workforce, as part of an effort to streamline its operations and reduce business costs.
The Niagara Falls plant will see the loss of about 1145 jobs, Buffalo Business First said. The plant is part of Chemours’ Reactive Metal Solutions business.
The plant has been in operation for more than 100 years, producing sodium and lithium, a Chemours spokesperson told Buffalo Business First.
While Chemours is shuttering the New York site, in its 2015 announcement about the closure, the company said it was maintaining a commitment to the company’s Belle, W.Va. manufacturing location, which is the site of its methylamines business. The site will remain part of its Chemical Solutions portfolio.
Chemours was spun out of DuPont in 2015. Shortly after its launch as an independent company, Chemours announced its five-point transformation plan. The plan is focused on five strategic elements: reducing structural costs, growing market positions, refocusing investments, optimizing the portfolio, and enhancing the organization.
Today Chemours also announced it intends to maintain its global headquarters in Wilmington, Del. Chemours employs about 1,000 people in Delaware, with about 800 at its current facilities in the old DuPont headquarters and the remaining 200 at satellite facilities. The company said it chose to remain in Delaware due to the deep talent pool in the state, as well as amenities for its workforce and economic incentives provided by state and local officials.
While Chemours is making moves to shore up its resources and operations, earlier this summer the company was rocked when short-seller Andrew Left of Citron called the company a “bankruptcy waiting to happen.” Left said the company was designed for bankruptcy. Shares of the company plummeted 15 percent following Left’s accusations in late June. The stock has regained much of its losses and currently trades at $9.06 per share.
