Huntsman to Cut 900 Jobs, Restructure Pigments Units

Shortly after the acquisition of Rockwood Holding's pigments businesses for $1.1 billion in October, US chemical producer Huntsman has announced plans to slash 900 jobs while restructuring its pigments and additives business at a cost of around $130 million up to 2016.

"This restructuring will improve the competitiveness of our global pigments and additives business and allow us to compete more aggressively," said president and CEO Peter Huntsman.

Separately, the Texas-based group said it is also exploring options to reduce capacity in its global titanium dioxide (TiO2) production. Analysts said the reductions would probably target high-cost Rockwood facilities in Europe, such as the plant in Uerdingen, Germany, operated by Sachtleben.

With the Rockwood buy, Huntsman became world's largest producer of TiO2 with around 9,000 t/y of capacity. In addition to the Sachtleben facilities, the US group also produces the white pigment at six sites worldwide, including four in Europe.

Earlier, Huntsman said it planned to spin off roughly 20% of the combined pigments business into a public entity within two years of the Rockwood deal's closing. When announcing the job cuts, it said it was continuing to take steps toward a listing.