Rhodia Idles Workers In Charleston

Rhodia has temporarily laid off 28 of 125 workers at its Charleston, S.C., site. The firm expects to call the idled workers back in mid-March depending on business conditions, says a company spokesman. Only one of six lines is operating at the plant, which manufactures a variety of products including chelating agents, fire retardants, pharmaceutical intermediates, and surfactants. The economic downturn's impact on Rhodia has been uneven, the spokesman adds. Most of the firm's plants in North America are operating normally, he says, but one other site was temporarily shut down recently. At the end of December 2008, Rhodia idled a Cincinnati facility employing 60 workers that makes alumina wash coats for automotive catalytic converters. It hopes to reopen that unit in April.