LyondellBasell to Close Resin Compounding Plant in Ohio

Global chemicals company LyondellBasell has notified municipal and state authorities in Ohio that it will permanently close its Exeter Road plant in Akron before the end of this year. Approximately 64 employees will lose their jobs, the company wrote in a letter dated June 26, 2023, to Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and the state's Office of Workforce Development.

LyondellBasell said in the letter that all operations at the resin compounding facility will cease on Dec. 15, 2023, and that it will eliminate all positions in conjunction with the closure. The first “separations” will occur on Sept. 2, or within 14 days of that date, and all layoffs will be completed by April 1, 2024. A limited number of employees will stay on past the December closure date to assist with decommissioning of the plant, said the company.

The letter was drafted and sent to the appropriate authorities in compliance with the federal requirements of the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act (WARN), which Ohio follows.

LyondellBasell has its headquarters in Houston, TX. In 2022, the company said it would close its refinery in Houston by the end of 2023 because of costly needed overhauls. Last month, Reuters reported that the company now intends to delay the closing until the first quarter of 2025 at the latest. It told Reuters that moderate maintenance spend would be required to keep the plant open. It is the only refinery in the company’s portfolio.