Lotte Chemical Reviews Workforce Reallocation at Ulsan Plant Amid Declining Factory Operating Rates

Partial Transfer of Employees to Other Business Sites

Amid continued sluggishness in the petrochemical industry, Lotte Chemical is reportedly considering the reassignment of employees at its Ulsan plant, which produces the plastic raw material PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

According to industry sources on the 16th, Lotte Chemical is reviewing plans to transfer some employees from the Ulsan plant to other business sites to improve production efficiency.

This appears to be an effort to respond to the situation where oversupply has occurred due to ongoing new capacity expansions by Chinese companies, leading to a decline in the operating rate of PET production at the Ulsan plant.

[Photo by Lotte Chemical]

The operating rate of Lotte Chemical's Ulsan PET plant dropped significantly from 92.4% at the end of 2022 to 69.7% at the end of last year.

Earlier, considering the global economic downturn and sluggish industry conditions, Lotte Chemical announced in December last year that it would extend the investment period for the PET depolymerization facility under construction at the Ulsan plant.