As part of its Recom (Regain Competitiveness) project at Antwerp / Belgium, Lanxess (Leverkusen / Germany; www.lanxess.com) is discussing with the workforce plans to transfer “a large proportion” of the 127 service jobs affected by the scheme to external companies. Management said it is confident of finding a viable solution “that will secure Antwerp’s long-term future and be in the best interests of both the employees and the companies.” It said the site, which manufactures starting materials for plastics as well as rubber and glass fibre, faces “steep rises in energy and raw materials costs” as well as “strong competition from Asia.”

Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen / Germany; www.bayerbms.com), Lanxess’ former parent company, is also realigning its workforce at Antwerp. Around 155 of the currently 900 positions in polycarbonate production there are to be eliminated, with 50 additional workers being offered transfers to other company sites.