Houston pesticide plant to close, company to lay off more than 100 - Chron

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  • AT&T Communications Inc. Location: Houston Date of Notice: March 22, 2018 Number of Employees Laid Off: 117 Photo: Lisa Poole, AP
    AT&T Communications Inc.

    Location: Houston

    Date of Notice: March 22, 2018

    Number of Employees Laid Off: 117

    AT&T Communications Inc.

    Location: Houston

    Date of Notice: March 22, 2018

    Number of Employees Laid Off: 117

    Photo: Lisa Poole, AP

Photo: Lisa Poole, AP

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AT&T Communications Inc.

Location: Houston

Date of Notice: March 22, 2018

Number of Employees Laid Off: 117

AT&T Communications Inc.

Location: Houston

Date of Notice: March 22, 2018

Number of Employees Laid Off: 117

Photo: Lisa Poole, AP

Syngenta AG, a pesticide and seed company, will lay off 135 full-time employees and another 160 contractors in Houston this year as the company closes its Greens Bayou facility near the Port of Houston.

The manufacturing plant produces chlorothalonil, a pesticide that was recently banned in Europe by a European Union decision in March. The widely used pesticide was found by the European Food Safety Authority to be linked to declining bee populations, have harmful impacts to rivers and waterways, be a high risk to fish and amphibians, and potentially be harmful to human health.

Beginning this week, production will wind down at the facility as the company reduces inventory. Production will cease in early 2020.

REPRIEVE: The latest on the Houston firefighter layoffs at HoustonChronicle.com

In a statement, the company attributed closure of the facility to the decision by the EU and the upgrades necessary at the facility.

"The closure decision is based on significant changes in the business including a decrease in future sales volume due to a March 2019 European Union regulatory decision," Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesperson, wrote in a statement. "Costly modernization improvements needed at the Greens Bayou site for continued operation."

More Information

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A subsidiary of Syngenta, GB Biosciences, in 2004 agreed to a $100 million settlement with the Port of Houston over massive contamination of the port from the operations of the pesticide manufacturing plant, at 2239 Haden.

Syngenta, based in Switzerland, and its legacy companies have owned the Houston facility since the 1990s. Following the closure of the facility, the company will consider disposition options for the site. Syngenta has two other pesticide production facilities in the U.S. that will remain in operation.

All the employees at the facility will be affected. The positions will be eliminated through the remainder of the year, beginning in August. Employees will receive severance and job placement assistance.

"Syngenta is committed to treating its affected employees fairly while ensuring a reliable product supply for its customers," Minehart wrote.

  • Syngenta AG, a pesticide and seed company, will close its pesticide production plant on the Port of Houston this year. >>The largest Houston layoffs of 2019 Photo: Jason Dearen, STF / ap
    Syngenta AG, a pesticide and seed company, will close its pesticide production plant on the Port of Houston this year.

    >>The largest Houston layoffs of 2019

    Syngenta AG, a pesticide and seed company, will close its pesticide production plant on the Port of Houston this year.

    >>The largest Houston layoffs of 2019

    Photo: Jason Dearen, STF

Photo: Jason Dearen, STF

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Syngenta AG, a pesticide and seed company, will close its pesticide production plant on the Port of Houston this year.

>>The largest Houston layoffs of 2019

Syngenta AG, a pesticide and seed company, will close its pesticide production plant on the Port of Houston this year.

>>The largest Houston layoffs of 2019

Photo: Jason Dearen, STF


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