Aggregate Industries – the UK subsidiary of LafargeHolcim – has seen a number of changes to its workforce over the last couple of years, some even affecting the Straitgate project. We’ve previously posted that over that period AI has reduced its workforce by 7%, that AI loses another CEO and that there's yet another change at the top of AI’s aggregates division.
What's behind these changes? Is it the economy or pressures from its parent company?
One thing that is clear is that parent LafargeHolcim has been in a race to cut costs and slash debt. Jan Jenisch joined as CEO on 1 September 2017. This Bloomberg article tells more:
Since his arrival, Jenisch has eliminated 30% of headquarters staff and sold its Southeast Asian operations. He’s also changed the chief financial officer, decentralized management and kicked out legions of consultants https://t.co/tKzXVwhxKN @tarapatelparis— Leonard Kehnscherper (@Kehnscherper) September 9, 2019
By his own reckoning, LafargeHolcim was "in a very tight race" to avoid a damaging credit rating downgrade, and is still suffering from a lack of shareholder confidence.
Is Jan Jenisch about to release investment into the UK? With Brexit and UK construction markets in the doldrums, it’s unlikely. In any case, he has other targets in mind:
German chemical maker BASF SE has put its construction chemicals business on the block and Bloomberg News reported LafargeHolcim is bidding for the division, which could fetch more than 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion).
Jenisch declined to comment on the sale process, but left no doubt the asset would be a good fit for LafargeHolcim’s solutions and products unit, his top choice for expansion.
"We’re going to be part of developing the next building materials," he said. "Construction chemicals can be part of that or we can partner with someone. There are many options to go that route." A new generation of products could help combat carbon emissions, for which the cement industry is increasingly under fire.
