LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Dec. 18, 2008)—Lanxess A.G. said it temporarily will cut production and shut down sites in Germany over the Christmas and New Year period in response to falling customer demand.
The firm made the announcement after reaching an agreement with employee representatives.
The plan involves 23 of the 45 production facilities in Germany, and 1,400 employees will be affected. The operations are located at the company's Leverkusen, Dormagen, Krefeld-Uerdingen and Brunsbuettel sites.
A Lanxess spokesman declined to say which specific sites will be affected, but said that the peak period for shutdowns would be the last week of 2008 and the first of 2009. The Leverkusen complex makes a large number of products, including technical rubber materials and rubber chemicals. The other three sites make butadiene rubber, additives and pigments among other products.