Delaware plant closing kicks off Chemours ‘Five-Point Transformation Plan’

    Chemours, headquartered in Wilmington, Del., announced today the closing of its Edge Moor plant – impacting more than 300 jobs in Delaware.

    Chemours will close its Edge Moor manufacturing site located outside Wilmington, DE, along with a production line at a plant in Johnsonville, TN.

    The Chemours Edge Moor plant has approximately 200 employees and 130 contractors. The company said it will work with employees to find positions within the company wherever possible; otherwise, employees will be given severance benefits.

    While Chemours says it intends to work with state leaders, an email statement from Gov. Jack Markell’s office said, “The Governor is disappointed for the workers and families impacted by today’s announcement. The Administration stands ready to provide support to any workers who need assistance and will remain in close contact with Chemours about the advantages of locating other operations in Delaware.”

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    Janet Smith, a spokesperson for Chemours, confirmed that the company has no plans to hold onto the Edge Moor property and it “remains to be seen” what the future of the site will be.

    The Edge Moor and Johnsonville plants produce a titanium product used in the paper industry. As announced during second quarter earnings, sales of titanium have been down substantially year over year creating unused capacity at both plants.

    The announcement today stated the declines have kept Edge Moor from being cost effective, while other plants in Mississippi, Mexico and Taiwan continue to be productive and give Chemours a “low cost position” in the titanium industry.

    Also during the second quarter earnings announcement in August, Chemours commited to a “Five Point Transformation Plan” to be implemented over the next few years.

    Part of the plan is to “reduce structural costs”, and the company expects the Edge Moor closure and Johnsonville line shut down to result in a $45 million annual net cost reduction.

    Production at Edge Moor is scheduled to stop at the end of September. Chemours will then clean up and dismantle the facilities, a process they expect could take a year or longer.

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