CEMEX Holdings Philippines, Inc. (CHP) said its unit Apo Cement Corp. has resumed operations of the two kilns at its cement plant, about two weeks after they were closed due to the lack of sources for raw materials at the time.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the cement manufacturer said Apo Cement Corp. will continue the operations of the kilns in its cement plant. With this, CHP will rehire the regular employees and contractual workers who were temporarily laid off.
In addition, the listed firm will no longer close its terminal in Davao City, which has the capacity to hold and dispatch 25,000 bags daily.
CHP said in November that Apo Cement will lay off 30% of its regular employees and 38% of its contractual employees in order to bring down costs and expenses. This followed the suspension of operations of Apo Land & Quarry Corp. (ALQC), Apo Cement’s principal raw material provider.
The government ordered the ALQC’s suspension after a landslide in Brgy. Tinaan, Naga City in Cebu left at least 78 people dead.
CHP, Apo Cement, ALQC, and other related government units are now in the middle of a P4.33-billion environmental class suit in relation to the quarry operations.
The company said Apo Cement continues to cooperate with ALQC and the respective national and local authorities to resolve the situation in Naga.
Shares in CHP dropped 1.21% or two centavos to close at P1.63 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia
