LyondellBasell, this one could hurt!!!

[Marilyn]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

Three of my neighbors, two girlfriends, and a lady who bought one of my pups work at Lyondell. I hate that this is happening. Were they being too greedy?

Yes/No. They based their business decisions on how things were looking in 2007 and into the future. 2008 was a record breaking year until September. Basell went into heavy debt buying Lyondell in 2007. Their projections for being able to cover the debt were based on past and projected performance. The world changed in Sept. '08 and when consumers stopped buying things and cars, the demand for chemicals and plastics plummeted and so did the industries' profits. The bills came due and the income just wasn't there. The creditors needed to work with Lyondell in restructuring their loans or they had to file bankruptcy. The latter happened.

LyondellBasell is not the only company in this industry in trouble. Ineos is having trouble covering their debt. Dow lost the Kuwait deal and committed to buy Rohm & Hass this summer when stock was high. Now they are trying to renegotiate the purchase and may sue Kuwait to recover billions lost on that deal. Dow is the largest chemical company in the world. LyondellBasell was number 3. When giants like these have problems, there will be ripples into other industries as well.

Also, it seems to begin a domino effect once one falls, others follow.

The news is so fresh, we don't know what to expect, yet. There will be some reductions in force. We just have to wait and see how the restructuring works, and whether or not we get paid.

I don't know what tomorrow will hold, whether we will be shipping to them or not. I'm figuring, not, but will have to wait and see. I've been in this industry since 1979, and have never seen a time anything like this. I was hopeful until today. Now, I really don't know. I've never seen so many units just not running. The entire Invista, Lyondell, DuPont plant site in our area is down, no steam or anything. Most of the company employees/non-contract people are still there, but for how long?

Houston could be the next Detroit at this rate. Very, very sad!!