Connect with us

Business

Lenzing Grimsby jobs at risk as major lyocell plant announces plans to close by 2027

Published

on

Business Live

The Lenzing Group has announced plans to cease production at its Grimsby lyocell manufacturing facility by the end of 2027 as part of a global restructure, putting 215 jobs at risk

An aerial view of the Lenzing Fibres Grimsby plant

An aerial view of the Lenzing Fibres Grimsby plant(Image: Grimsby Telegraph/Pom Flying Club Ltd)

The owners of a major Grimsby employer have unveiled plans to halt production by the end of next year as part of a worldwide restructure, placing more than 200 jobs under threat.

The Lenzing Group is headquartered in Lenzing, Austria, and operates sizeable production facilities and offices in the US, China, Indonesia and at Grimsby’s Energy Park Way.

Advertisement

Lenzing’s manufacturing plant in Grimsby specialises in producing lyocell – a contemporary, plant-based textile made from wood pulp, widely recognised in the clothing industry under the brand name Tencel. However, group executives have announced proposals to close the facility by the end of 2027 as part of efforts to reduce its overall footprint.

The company says it will explore “strategic options” for the Grimsby plant and other affected sites in Austria and Indonesia, including their potential sale to new owners “or other value-preserving solutions”. Lenzing has confirmed that 215 people are employed at the site.

Shutting the facility would bring to a close nearly 30 years of manufacturing in the region, having originally opened under Courtaulds Fibers in 1998. Its global leadership team in Austria announced the closure as part of a new “Grow Nonwovens, Reset Textiles” strategy, which the company says has been devised to safeguard its long-term future.

Lenzing confirmed: “As part of its transformation and product portfolio optimsation, Lenzing is consolidating its fiber production footprint alongside the ongoing sale process of the Indonesian viscose site, PT South Pacific Viscose. In addition, Lenzing plans to phase out production at its fiber plants in Heiligenkreuz, Austria by end of 2026 and in Grimsby, UK by end of 2027,” reports Grimsby Live.

Advertisement

Georg Kasperkovitz, chief executive of the Lenzing Group, said: “With “Grow Nonwovens, Reset Textiles”, Lenzing is taking decisive steps to reposition the company for long-term success in a fundamentally changing market environment. By combining a streamlined premium product portfolio, improved competitiveness and a strong proprietary innovation pipeline, we are creating the foundation for profitable growth and a more focused, resilient Lenzing.”

He added: “At the same time, this transformation will strengthen our main production site in Lenzing, Austria, and support a sustainably profitable and competitive future for the site. In parallel, Lenzing is evaluating strategic options for the affected sites, including potential divestment or other value-preserving solutions.

“Should no viable outcome be achieved, Lenzing plans to implement a structured and orderly wind-down, with a strong focus on safety, supply reliability, and continuity for customers, as well as social and environmental responsibility. For affected employees in Grimsby, Lenzing will engage with employee representatives and relevant stakeholders regarding appropriate support and mitigation measures.”

The consolidation proposals follow Lenzing having already cut 267 jobs across several sites so far this year, generating annual savings of €25m. The company stated its plan “is designed to improve competitiveness, profitability and return on invested capital, positioning Lenzing for long‐term growth in higher‐value markets” and to “better serve the needs of brands and retailers in Western and Asian markets even better”.

Advertisement

Lenzing’s global headcount is anticipated to be reduced by approximately 2,000 positions by the end of next year, having employed around 8,100 members of staff at the close of 2025. The company confirmed the cuts will “primarily affect employees at the aforementioned sites in Heiligenkreuz (Austria), Grimsby (UK), and Purwakarta (Indonesia).”

The announcement is set to deliver a devastating blow to the region’s manufacturing sector, arriving five years after Lenzing Fibers Grimsby ploughed a reported £20m into a new waste water treatment plant at the site.

The company’s most recent accounts, for 2024, reveal turnover fell from £117m to £107m, though the previous year’s loss of £1.7m was turned around into an operating profit of £19m. Directors pointed to robust demand for its products while cautioning that cost pressures remained an ongoing concern.

A spokesman for Lenzing said: “Around 215 employees work at the Grimsby site. Lenzing will engage with employee representatives and relevant stakeholders regarding appropriate support and mitigation measures for the affected persons. At this point, it is too early to make definitive statements about the transition of employees within the business.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Business

Manhattan Associates Stock Jumps 27% as Cloud Revenue Growth Powers Record Second-Quarter Results Today

Published

on

Shares of Manhattan Associates surged 26.70% in Wednesday morning trading, climbing $44.90 to $213.07, after the supply chain software company reported record second-quarter results driven by strong growth in its cloud subscription business.

The Atlanta-based company reported second-quarter revenue of $297.8 million, up 9.3% from $272.4 million in the same period a year earlier and ahead of the consensus analyst estimate of roughly $293.7 million. Cloud subscription revenue, the segment investors have watched most closely as a signal of the company’s transition away from legacy licensing and services, climbed 26% year over year to $126.7 million. Services revenue came in at $133.0 million for the quarter.

On the earnings side, Manhattan Associates reported non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.39, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $1.34 and improving from $1.31 reported in the second quarter of 2025. GAAP diluted earnings per share, however, declined to 85 cents from 93 cents a year earlier, with net income falling to $50.4 million from $56.8 million over the same period, a divergence that reflects differences between the company’s adjusted and unadjusted accounting measures.

The company’s remaining performance obligations, a metric that reflects contracted future revenue not yet recognized, grew 23% year over year to reach $2.5 billion as of June 30, according to the company’s earnings release. Manhattan Associates said the quarter marked its third consecutive period of record bookings, a trend executives described as reflecting sustained business momentum and effective execution of the company’s go-to-market strategy.

Advertisement

Company leadership highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence capabilities in driving the quarter’s results. Manhattan Associates said the introduction of AI-related features across its supply chain and omnichannel commerce platforms has become a meaningful differentiator in customer conversations, contributing directly to both deal activity and the company’s broader sales pipeline growth.

The company maintained an active share buyback program during the quarter, repurchasing 874,029 shares for a total of $125.0 million. Manhattan Associates ended the quarter with $186.1 million in cash and generated $90.7 million in cash flow from operations during the three-month period, according to its financial disclosures.

Manhattan Associates’ stock had already shown strength heading into the earnings report, rising 9.8% over the month prior to the release, alongside an average analyst price target of $185.45 compared with the stock’s pre-earnings price of $151.67. The magnitude of Wednesday’s rally, however, significantly exceeded the roughly 10% to 11% gains the stock initially posted in after-hours trading following the results, suggesting that additional buying interest developed as investors had more time to digest the details of the report and the strength of the underlying cloud growth trends.

Wednesday’s surge continues a broader pattern for Manhattan Associates, whose stock has repeatedly posted double-digit single-session gains following past quarterly reports when cloud revenue growth has exceeded expectations. The company posted a similar roughly 10% jump following its first-quarter 2025 results, when cloud revenue grew 21% year over year and the company subsequently raised its full-year guidance for that fiscal year.

Advertisement

The company’s five-year historical sales growth rate stands at approximately 12.7% annually, according to recent analysis, though some market observers have noted that growth has moderated somewhat in more recent periods, with annualized revenue growth of roughly 6.3% over the trailing two years running below the longer five-year trend. Analysts have said that pattern reflects a broader dynamic within the enterprise software sector, where growth rates for even strong-performing companies have generally cooled from the elevated pace seen during and immediately following the pandemic-era surge in cloud software adoption.

Manhattan Associates provides supply chain management and omnichannel commerce software used by large retailers, logistics companies and other enterprises to manage complex inventory, fulfillment and distribution operations. The company has positioned its ongoing shift toward cloud-based subscription offerings as central to its long-term growth strategy, arguing that the recurring revenue model provides greater predictability and higher long-term customer value compared with the company’s legacy on-premises software licensing business.

Despite Wednesday’s sharp gain, the stock remains well below its most recent highs reached earlier in the year, having traded as much as 34% below those peak levels amid a period of broader volatility across software and technology stocks tied to shifting investor sentiment around enterprise software valuations and growth expectations more broadly.

Investors are likely to continue monitoring Manhattan Associates’ cloud revenue growth trajectory and the pace of its remaining performance obligations expansion in the coming quarters as key indicators of whether the company can sustain the kind of momentum reflected in Wednesday’s results, particularly as the broader enterprise software sector continues to navigate questions about the durability of growth rates following the initial post-pandemic acceleration in cloud adoption across the industry.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Published

on

OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript