Lyondellbasell said it plans to to cease the production of polypropylene (PP) at its plant in Terni, Italy. The company said it has started the employee consultation process regarding a project to permanently shut down the unit.

"Demand for polypropylene continues to be affected by global economic conditions and the resulting market environment has made facilities such as Terni no longer economically viable. We expect to be able to meet projected customer demand for polypropylene (including local customers in Terni) with product supplied from our other facilities in Italy," said Anton De Vries , Lyondellbasell's senior vice president, Olefins and Polyolefins - Europe, Asia and International. Lyondellbasell said that PP production activities in Italy will be focused on the company's world-scale sites at Ferrara and Brindisi.

The Terni plant has a nameplate capacity of 255 KT per year. In conjunction with the shutdown project, the company has started consultation with representatives of the employees to determine the appropriate path forward for the employees at the site. The plant currently has approximately 120 permanent employees.