Chemours to lay off 75 workers at North Florida mining sites amid competitiveness concerns (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Chemours will permanently lay off 75 workers at three North Florida mining and processing sites this spring, a move that will significantly reduce headcount at one of the region’s most strategically important mineral operations.
The layoffs are scheduled to take effect March 6 and will affect employees at the company’s Maxville Mine near Macclenny and two facilities in Starke, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the Florida Department of Commerce.
Chemours cited “economic competitiveness” as the reason for the action in the Jan. 5 notice.
The largest reduction will occur at the Trail Ridge South mine, where 44 of the site’s 68 employees are slated for permanent separation. At the Maxville Mine, 19 of 56 employees will be laid off, while the Starke facility will lose 12 of its 94 workers, the notice states.
“Chemours has made the strategic decision to idle our 33-year-old Maxville mine and transition to a contract mining model for earth-moving operations, ensuring greater efficiency and cost predictability in line with the Portfolio Management pillar of our Pathway to Thrive strategy,” a Chemours spokesperson told sister-publication The Atlanta Business Chronicle. This approach allows Chemours to focus on our core strength—advanced mineral separation, which is critical to delivering high-value products and supporting U.S. efforts to strengthen domestic supply of critical minerals.
The affected positions span operational, technical and supervisory roles. Operators account for the majority of the layoffs, particularly at the Trail Ridge South mine, where 38 operator positions will be eliminated. Mechanics, engineers, supervisors and other support roles are also impacted across the three sites.
None of the affected employees are represented by a union, and no bumping rights will be offered. The layoffs are permanent, though none of the facilities will close as a result of the workforce reduction, according to the filing.
Chemours was created in 2015 as a spin-off from DuPont and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company operates globally across three main segments — Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions and Advanced Performance Materials — supplying chemical inputs to industries including coatings, plastics, electronics, automotive manufacturing and clean-energy technologies.
North Florida plays a strategic role in Chemours’ minerals business. The company operates mineral-sands mines along Trail Ridge, a geologic sand ridge running through the region that contains titanium- and zircon-bearing minerals. The Trail Ridge South mine near Starke is part of that footprint, supplying ilmenite and related ores that are upgraded into feedstock for Chemours’ Ti-Pure titanium dioxide pigment plants.
Those operations give Chemours a unique domestic position. The company is the only U.S. producer of titanium and zirconium minerals and one of only two domestic producers of certain rare earth minerals, materials identified by the U.S. Department of the Interior as “critical to national security and economic prosperity.”
“Importantly, these changes do not impact Chemours’ ability to supply critical minerals. We retain all mining rights and operational oversight and will continue to lead in mineral separation technologies that underpin U.S. national priorities,” Chemours said of the layoffs.