Celanese To Assess Realignment of Acetyl Intermediates Production in France and Mexico

DALLAS. – Celanese Corporation (NYSE:NE), a leading global chemical company, today announced it is assessing the potential closure of acetic acid and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) production in Pardies, France, and assessing the potential closure of VAM production in Cangrejera, Mexico. The company believes the consideration of this potential capacity reduction is necessitated by the significant change in the global economic environment and anticipated lower customer demand.

The company will begin the assessment phase for a potential closure of its Pardies, France, manufacturing facility. The Pardies facility is capable of producing 450,000 tons of acetic acid and 150,000 tons of VAM annually.

Additionally, the company will begin the assessment phase for a potential closure of its VAM production unit at its Cangrejera, Mexico, facility. This production unit has an annual production capacity of 115,000 tons.

Should the assessment lead to the closure of these production facilities, the company expects to meet customer obligations with production from its other facilities in Europe, North America and Asia.

All potentially affected employees would be treated fairly and according to respective country laws and practices.

“We are evaluating, along with other possible actions, the best means to align production capacity and worldwide staffing with anticipated prolonged lower demand.” said David Weidman, chairman and chief executive officer. “The company is focused on meeting customer needs while maintaining our global competitive leadership position in Acetyls.”