Tronox Holdings plc announced its intent to indefinitely idle its 90,000 metric ton per year titanium dioxide (TiO2) plant in Botlek, Netherlands. This strategic decision follows an extensive review of the company's asset footprint, driven by a persistent global supply imbalance and heightened competition from Chinese producers.
The Botlek facility, which was Tronox's highest-cost plant, is currently shut down due to an outage by its chlorine supplier that began on March 6, 2025. The company does not expect to bring the plant back online after consultation with the works council, impacting approximately 240 permanent staff.
Tronox estimates incurring restructuring and other related charges of approximately $130 million to $160 million, primarily over the next 18 months, including $55 million to $65 million in non-cash write-downs. However, the idling is expected to generate annual cost savings exceeding $30 million from 2026 onwards, which are incremental to the company's existing cost improvement program.
As a result of these actions, Tronox updated its free cash flow guidance for the full year 2025, now expecting it to be greater than $50 million. This move aims to optimize Tronox's global production footprint and improve overall manufacturing costs without impacting its ability to serve customers.
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