Radici Chimica Novara Restructuring Puts 140 Jobs at Risk
Radici Chimica Novara Plans Production Shutdown, Putting 140 Jobs at Risk
Radici Chimica is preparing to discontinue adipic acid and related production activities at its Novara site in northern Italy, potentially affecting up to 140 employees.
The proposed restructuring would involve almost half of the 287 people currently employed at the plant. It follows three consecutive years of significant losses and a prolonged deterioration in the European market for adipic acid.
The company presented its assessment to trade union representatives during a meeting at Confindustria Novara on 21 July 2026. It said measures to limit the employment and economic consequences—including redeployment, professional retraining and social safety-net provisions—were still being evaluated.
What is changing at the Novara plant?
The restructuring concerns the production of technical and purified adipic acid, as well as nitric acid and connected operations.
Employees working in production, quality control, logistics and supporting activities could be included in the collective redundancy procedure. The final number of job losses may therefore depend on negotiations, possible internal transfers and the social measures eventually agreed with unions.
Adipic acid is one of the principal raw materials used to manufacture polyamide 66, also known as nylon 66. This engineering polymer is widely used in automotive components, textiles, industrial products and construction applications.
The Novara facility has historically formed part of an integrated production chain supplying materials for Radici’s engineering-plastics activities.
Three years of losses and weaker European demand
According to the company, the Novara site’s adipic acid operations have recorded substantial losses for three consecutive years.
Radici Chimica attributes the decline to several overlapping factors: increasing production capacity in Asia, comparatively high European energy and raw-material costs, and persistently weak demand from the automotive, textile and construction industries.
The company describes this weakness as structural rather than temporary. It argues that reduced activity throughout the downstream polyamide supply chain has also narrowed the European market available to domestic adipic acid producers.
On this basis, management concluded that there was no sufficiently robust route to restoring the profitability of adipic acid production in Novara.
EU anti-dumping duties did not reverse the pressure
European adipic acid producers had already sought trade protection against low-priced Chinese imports.
Following an investigation, the European Commission imposed definitive anti-dumping duties of between 29.1% and 42.3% on adipic acid imported from China on 5 May 2026. The Commission found that the products were entering the European Union at dumped prices and causing harm to an EU industry employing more than 1,100 people.
The EU estimates that imports of adipic acid from outside the bloc are worth approximately €160 million, with about €130 million originating in China.
Radici Chimica said the trade measures had not been sufficient to prevent Chinese imports from continuing to put pressure on European producers. Anti-dumping duties can reduce unfair price competition, but they cannot by themselves resolve weak demand, excess capacity or Europe’s higher operating costs.
Safety and location also influenced the decision
The company has also referred to the regulatory and operational characteristics of the Novara facility.
The affected production units are subject to the European Seveso framework governing industrial sites where significant quantities of hazardous substances are present. The plant is also located close to an important urban area.
Radici Chimica said continuing to operate a heavily loss-making facility with these characteristics would not represent a responsible long-term solution. Its stated objective is now to concentrate resources on the future of the remaining Novara activities and on measures for the employees affected.
This does not indicate that the entire Novara site will close. The announced plan concerns specific production units, while the future configuration of the remaining operations will form part of the industrial and union discussions. Radici Chimica Novara
Unions seek safeguards for workers
The announcement has triggered a state of industrial agitation among employees and union representatives.
The unions have requested measures capable of reducing compulsory redundancies, including extraordinary wage-support arrangements, voluntary departures, retirement pathways, retraining and redeployment.
Radici Chimica has confirmed that possible internal or external placement programmes and professional reskilling measures are under consideration. Discussions are expected to involve the unions, the Municipality of Novara, the Prefecture and Confindustria Novara.
The Novara City Council has also considered motions calling for the protection of employment levels and greater institutional involvement in the dispute.
The collective redundancy procedure has begun, but the figure of 140 should be treated as the maximum number of positions currently at risk—not as a final count of confirmed dismissals.
The restructuring follows the Lone Star acquisition
The industrial decision comes shortly after Lone Star Funds completed its acquisition of RadiciGroup’s Specialty Chemicals and High Performance Polymers businesses.
Lone Star announced the completion of the transaction on 30 April 2026. The acquired businesses are intended to form part of a broader independent engineering-materials platform, alongside DOMO Engineered Materials.
The transaction covered the chemical and high-performance polymer operations, while the Radici family retained its Advanced Textile Solutions activities and other businesses.
Although the timing has intensified concern among workers, the company’s stated justification for the Novara restructuring centres on accumulated operating losses and structural changes in the European adipic acid market.
What happens next?
The principal issue is now the extent to which negotiations can reduce the social impact of the production shutdown.
The parties will need to establish which activities will remain at the Novara site, how many workers can be reassigned, what retraining programmes will be available and which income-support measures can be activated.
Further clarification will also be required on the timetable for closing the affected units and the industrial plan for the remaining operations.
For Novara, the dispute is significant not only because of the number of jobs involved but also because of the specialised chemical expertise accumulated at the site. Preserving those skills—or finding credible alternative employment for the affected workers—will be central to the negotiations.
Key facts
Company: Radici Chimica
Location: Novara, Piedmont, Italy
Employees at the site: 287
Positions potentially affected: Up to 140
Main production affected: Adipic acid, nitric acid and connected operations
Reason given by the company: Three years of losses, Asian overcapacity, high European costs and weak demand
Current status: Collective redundancy procedure and negotiations under way
Latest verified development: Company-union meeting held on 21 July 2026
Sources and verification
This report was checked against the Radici Chimica statement reported by RAI TGR Piemonte on 21 July 2026, a report on the company-union meeting published by Novarese24 on 22 July 2026, official European Commission information on adipic acid anti-dumping duties dated 5 May 2026, official Lone Star and RadiciGroup acquisition announcements dated 30 April 2026, and documents published by the Municipality of Novara.
The employment figure represents positions potentially affected by the procedure. It should not be interpreted as 140 completed or irrevocably confirmed dismissals.
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