The German chemicals firm Covestro plans to cut 309 of the 976 jobs at its Antwerp site. The news means that 260 people will be made redundant. The company intends to reorganise the site given global overcapacity. Staff were informed this morning. “The staff have reacted with surprise and dismay; this affects 25 per cent of the workforce,” says Patrik Collier of the Christian ACV union.
Home News
Chemicals giant Covestro to axe 309 jobs in the Port of Antwerp
Published:
According to trade union representative Collier, the management is closing a BPA plant and five of the six production lines at the Makrolon plant. As a result, only the Aniline plant and the Polyether plant will remain. Management cities 2027 as the deadline. “When you have 970 employees and they’re talking about 260 redundancies, which amounts to 25 per cent of the workforce – and, above all, the families who depend on them,” says Collier.
Covestro produces polycarbonate plastic pellets at the Makrolon plant. This material is used in items such as car headlights. The management points to global overcapacity in the market and that new sites have been established in Asia.
According to the management, this is putting pressure on prices and means that the grades produced in Antwerp are no longer profitable. In Europe, the company only intends to produce profitable polycarbonate grades in future.
The remaining plants form part of the MDI chain. Collier says there is certainly potential for future growth and profit here. However, capacity utilisation at the polyether plant has fallen in recent years. “So, the question is what will remain and how viable that is,” he says. The industry uses polyether and aniline for foams in mattresses, sofas and cars.
Structural crisis in the chemicals sector
The company points to a structural crisis in the European chemicals sector. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for Covestro to sell materials produced in Europe competitively and profitably, particularly in the segment of lower-cost standard polycarbonates. Failing to take action today would undermine the long-term economic viability of our Antwerp site,” Susanne Buchholz, managing director at Covestro, said.