Announcing third-quarter results that ended Sept. 30, 2024, Albemarle Corp. stated that effective Nov. 1, 2024, the company has undergone restructuring and will layoff 6-7% of its global workforce, which will be about 500 jobs.
Net sales for the third quarter of 2024 were $1.4 billion compared to $2.3 billion for the prior-year quarter, a year-over-year decline of 41% driven primarily by lower pricing in energy storage. Lithium prices have halved over the past year, leading to an oversupply and negative sentiment for Albemarle, according to Seeking Alpha.
Albemarle says the annual run-rate cost savings are projected to be in the range of $300 million to $400 million. These savings will be achieved through the elimination of redundancies, reduced management layers, productivity improvements and optimized manufacturing costs.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, Albemarle expects to record a charge primarily related to severance and associated benefit costs arising from these actions.
For the full year 2025, Albemarle's capital expenditures are forecasted to be between $800 million and $900 million. The majority of this spend will be aligned with sustaining existing assets and resources, with the remainder allocated to select growth projects and high-return, quick payback improvements.
The Charlotte Observer notes that this is the second round of layoffs this year at Albemarle. In January, the company detailed a more than $750 million cost-cutting plan, that included job cuts.
“In June, Albemarle unveiled its site plan for the nearly 1,200-acre Kings Mountain lithium mine in Cleveland County, about 30 miles west of Charlotte. North Carolina is among a few places in the world where lithium mining is possible. Large green areas in white pegmatite rock called spodumene are extracted to make lithium. Albemarle’s lithium mine is expected to produce about 420,000 tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate per year. In September, Albemarle submitted 13 state and federal permits to reopen the dormant lithium mine that closed in the late 1980s,” according to the Observer.
