Muttenz, Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Chemicals company Clariant has announced layoffs of 500 employees, 400 of which are in Switzerland, as it continues to restructure. The company suffered sharp losses in 2008, largely due to a sudden drop in the auto industry. The company has since then shed more than 3,000 jobs. It is now moving its textile dyes and textile chemicals division to Asia. The company employed 1,200 people in Switzerland at the end of 2009.

The company’s sales were down 18 percent in Swiss francs in 2009 over the previous year, to CHF 6.6 billion. Clariant reduced its net debt to CHF545 million from CHF1.2b at the end of 2008. Net debt divided by equity was at 29 percent by the end of 2009, well down from the 61% at the end of 2008.

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