Cemex Closes 5 plants in Costa Rica

In the face of a 20% to 30% decrease in the demand for cement and concrete, the multinational closed five of its concrete plants.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Of the three production lines that Cemex has in Costa Rica, cement, concrete and aggregates, the concrete sector has been hardest hit by the crisis. With the closing of the 5 facilities, there are only 3 left operating.

The company also laid-off 50 people. According to what was published in Nacion.com, the director of Cemex Costa Rica, Carlos Gonzalez, said that "75% [of layoffs] were specific to the concrete area."

Additionally, "The crisis also slowed investments. This year, this item will only have about $2 million added (to the cement and concrete plants) when it was usual to invest $8 to $10 million annually."

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