FMC Corporation announced on September 1 that it will close the Cheminova factory at Harboøre Tange in western Jutland, ending more than 400 jobs.
The American owners took the decision after several years of losses in the billions of kroner, DR reports. The plant lies on Harboøre Tange by the Limfjord and mainly produces pesticides for agriculture.
With more than 400 employees, it is by far the largest private employer in Lemvig Municipality. TV 2 reports that FMC plans to shut the site by the end of 2026, and that the roughly 400 staff will be dismissed.
In a written response reported by TV 2, FMC said the closure is part of a global strategy to optimize production. The factory has operated in the area for more than 70 years.
Local reaction
Mayor Jens Lønberg of the Conservative People’s Party told DR the news landed like a shell shock. He was shown around the factory as recently as this spring.
Lønberg called it a black day for the municipality and said several hundred jobs are massive in such a thinly populated area. His thoughts go to the employees and the families who depended on Cheminova, he said.
He described the decision as a blow to the midriff and said he hopes the government can be brought in to help. He also promised to work for new jobs in the municipality.
Anders G. Christensen of Venstre, chairman of Region Midtjylland, called the closure sad news. Steffen Damsgaard, chairman of Landdistrikternes Fællesråd and a Lemvig resident, called it a catastrophe for the area and said an acute effort is needed.
Decades of contamination
According to DR, toxic waste has seeped from Cheminova’s factories and depots into the local environment for decades. The site has produced three so-called generational contaminations, cases costing at least 50 million kroner each to investigate and clean up.
That includes the company’s original factory, the current plant and the notorious Høfde 42, where barrels of chemical waste were buried. Mercury and other toxic chemicals have repeatedly been found in the soil, the sea and local fish.
In 2024, DR revealed that large amounts of polluted wastewater were still being pumped into the North Sea from Cheminova. Region Midtjylland said on September 1 that the closure makes the future handling of contamination at Harboøre Tange more urgent.
A separate case also hangs over the company. In 2021, a tank holding waste from the factory exploded at a German plant, killing seven people and injuring 31. Cheminova has been accused of shared responsibility, and financial claims against the company total more than two billion kroner.
