Hexion will begin laying off employees on July 1

Plans to shut down in 2019

Ohio-based Hexion Inc. layoffs in Norco will begin July 1 and continue through January 2019 as the chemical maker phases out operations over the next three years.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) named Hexion among four companies in Louisiana announcing nearly 400 layoffs or lost jobs. The announcement also named two Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas divisions in New Orleans, the Offshore Specialty Fabricators facility in Houma and Martin Mills distribution center in Vidalia.

Hexion confirmed 97 employees are losing their jobs in a series of layoffs that continue in October, January 2017 and then end with closure in January 2019.

Earlier this year, Hexion confirmed it would likely close or begin closing its Momentive Specialty Chemicals site by June, although it most recently announced jobs would be eliminated as it shutters the plant.

Paul Barletta, vice president of global epoxy manufacturing in Norco, said then that employees have the option to move to other company operations.

According to company spokesman John Kompa, the company announced plans to buy less costing epichlorohydrin (ECH) from Asia, which has an over capacity of the resin and to move its resins product line to other Hexion facilities in the U.S. and Europe.

Brent Petit, USW staff representative, also said at that time that talks had begun with Hexion, with 60 of its employees in the union and company executives.

Petit said then that a 2012 trade agreement with South Korea cut import duty by 5 percent on both ECH and LER (liquid epoxy resin) that hurt profit margins for companies like Hexion.

He maintained the change was due to what he described as the market and competitive landscape changing.

Dan Borne’, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association, maintained the change was not a trend.

What Borne’ considered an important trend was that more than half of new capital investment in the U.S. chemical manufacturing was coming from overseas, signaling the U.S. and Gulf Coast as viable for locating new plants.

Baton Rouge economist Loren Scott agreed, estimating  $20 billion in investments were planned in new or modernized plants.

 

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