Oltchim vows no Arpechim job cuts if Petrom takeover happens

22 September 2009 15:03  [Source: ICIS news]

PRAGUE (ICIS news)--Oltchim intends to make no redundancies at the Arpechim petrochemical unit if it achieves a long-planned takeover of the Petrom subsidiary, the Romanian chemical company said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, some of Arpechim's 500-strong workforce began demonstrations after learning that, with the Oltchim deal still not guaranteed, Petrom had notified the local government that in October it would begin formal procedures to make substantial redundancies at the mothballed unit.

Oltchim has also responded by saying that even though it could not hit its original mid-September deadline for taking over and integrating Arpechim, it was confident of doing so by November.

The company is planning to use a Romanian state guarantee to cover €49.6m ($72.9m) of a €62m commercial loan that it requires to buy the Arpechim assets.

The 200,000 tonne/year ethylene cracker of Arpechim, located in Pitesti, southern Romania, is connected to Oltchim with a local pipeline.

($1 = €0.68)

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Will Conroy
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly