226 jobs to go at Hydro

By Roger Chesher

NEWS of restructuring of the UK fertiliser business is quiet at present.

Hydro has plans to publicly reveal its new structure and strategy later next month, and is currently working on the proposals to shed 226 of its 396 workforce.

The bulk of the job losses will be in manufacturing and, while 47 are destined to leave the commercial departments, this should have little or no impact in the field.

Hydro Agri UK remains a market-oriented organisation.

While the company is signalling that its commercial operation is little changed, there is no doubt that UK head Doug Shaw will seek to maximise returns on products, all of which will now be imported.

Inevitably, there is bitterness among the workforce at Immingham that a modern and efficient plant should be closed, while governments elsewhere fight to retain jobs at older sites.

But, agriculture in Britain is left to sink or swim without intervention.

Kemira is awaiting the outcome of possible joint-venture proposals for the ownership of the newly formed Kemira Nitrogen division. More information is expected in April.

The strike by the Kemira workforce in Finland has ended, but production has only just come into full swing.

Supplies of nitrogen in Europe remain tight as UK suppliers move into their April pricing structures.

This would have put domestic ammonium nitrate at 105/t cash, but with the breakdown at Immingham still not resolved there is a real chance that we shall see AN above 110/t in April, possibly as high as 113/t.

Compound prices will also rise and the manufacturers are likely to seek a cash only market for aftercut products whose prices are less likely to be eroded this year as the season develops.

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