The company had offered the voluntary severance packages to about 1,100 employees in its resources group last year, Ashland spokesman James Vitak told Lube Report, following the sale of its Ashland Paving and Construction highway construction division in August to Washington, D.C.-based Oldcastle Materials Inc. for $1.3 billion. The positions involved mainly supported the divested paving and construction business, he said, and were in accounting, communications, human resources, information technology and other support functions.
Theyre scattered among various locations, he said. At any particular site – including the Valvoline operations themselves – the impact is very small as a percentage of employees.
According to Vitak, many of those accepting voluntary severance left by the end of February, with some departing in March, and a few more leaving in the next month or so. The bulk of them have already left the company, he said.
Covington, Ky.-based Ashland mentioned the severance buyouts Monday as part of a statement outlining its guidance for fiscal second-quarter earnings, which it will release on April 25.