Lubrizol is cutting staff in France and shifting some production overseas, blaming overcapacity in the market, the rise of electric vehicles, the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, sanctions on Russia and Chinese competition.
The plan was reported by local news organizations covering a Feb. 6 meeting where management disclosed its intentions.
The United States-based chemical company is to lay off 145 people from its site near Rouen, some 40% of the workforce, and another 24 from Le Havre. It also plans to move 3% of its operations from Rouen to Le Havre and 7% overseas.
The Mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol called for Lubrizol to take into account employees’ personal investment in the plant, especially in light of the fire in 2019. He was joined by a group of MPs and a senator who criticized the company for relocating operations to a country with potentially less stringent environmental standards.
The decision was called brutal by French parliamentarians. In a letter to Prime Minister François Bayrou, demanded Lubrizol be forced to reverse course and to protect the region’s chemical industry from shrinking further.
Europe’s chemicals industry is under immense pressure to remain competitive with China, the world’s largest chemical market. Elsewhere in France, ExxonMobil closed plastics feedstock production in Normandy, losing 625 jobs and Solvay shed 70 jobs at its plant in Salindres. Estimates place total job losses across the industry over the next three years at 200,000.