519 jobs at risk as Venator goes into administration

THE parent group of a chemicals company employing more than 500 people in the North East has gone into administration, though there are hopes that local jobs can be saved.

- GRAEME WHITFIELD

Venator Materials plc - which operates from Wynyard and Greatham, on Teesside, and from Birtley in Gateshead - has appointed professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal as administrators.

The firm is the overall holding company for the Venator Group, which makes titanium dioxide and performance additives for use in paint, plastics and other materials.

Outside of the UK, it has operations in Spain, France, the US, Malaysia and Germany.

It has 519 employees in the UK and 2,249 globally.

Venator has been struggling for a number of years, and went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings in the US in 2023.