As part of its shift towards focusing on polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) additives (see also Plasteurope.com of 28.10.2013), US bioscience company Metabolix (Cambridge, Massachusetts; www.metabolix.com) has announced plans to discontinue the operations of its German subsidiary, based in Cologne. By the end of this year, the company plans to have sold all or part of the operations of the unit, which specialises in marketing and selling compounded resins used in compostable film and bag applications.

Metabolix said it expects to incur a charge of about USD 900,000 in Q3 this year as a result of the proposed divestiture, adding that the final loss may differ depending on the actual or expected proceeds of the sale. It added that it does not expect any charges for employee termination costs. The discontinuation of the Cologne-based business is expected to yield net annual cash savings of about USD 2m per year, Metabolix said.