CJ Bio to shut Kerteh plant from 15 Oct, 372 jobs affected
- CJ Bio Malaysia is shutting its plant at the Kertih Biopolymer Park in Kerteh, Terengganu, in phases from 15 October 2026, affecting 372 workers, the Human Resources Ministry said on 7 October.
- The ministry said the company cited higher raw material prices and price competition from overseas producers, especially China. MIDA is looking for investors to take over the site, and the state is handling the leased land.
- The plant makes L-methionine for animal feed with Arkema supplying a raw material from its own unit on the same 70-hectare site; the CJ–Arkema complex had RM3.3 billion invested by 2018.
CJ Bio Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which runs the bio-methionine plant that South Korea's CJ CheilJedang built with France's Arkema at the Kertih Biopolymer Park in Kerteh, Terengganu, is shutting the plant in phases from 15 October 2026, affecting 372 workers. The Human Resources Ministry announced this on 7 October. It said the company had cited higher raw material prices and intense price competition from international producers, particularly China. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) is looking for new investors to take over or replace the operations at the site, and the Terengganu government is handling matters involving the leased land.
The workers
- Labour Department: checking that wages and termination benefits are paid as the Employment Act 1955 requires. The ministry said the company has committed to protecting the workers' rights and welfare
- PERKESO: 224 workers had joined its profiling sessions by 6 October, covering Employment Insurance System benefits, MYFutureJobs registration and upskilling
- New jobs: some workers were placed with CHEC Construction at a PERKESO career carnival at Politeknik Dungun, and three local companies are ready to hire
- Redeployment: the Terengganu Human Resource Development Centre is working on it with the state government
The plant
- What it makes: L-methionine, an amino acid added to poultry and other animal feed, made by fermenting sugars or plant-oil glycerin rather than from petroleum. CJ Bio Malaysia planned 80,000 tonnes a year when it started production in 2014
- The partner: Arkema's unit on the same site supplies methyl mercaptan, the sulphur raw material for CJ's final reaction, and also makes dimethyl disulfide
- Investment: RM2.1 billion for the first phase and RM1.2 billion more announced in May 2018 to double methionine capacity, RM3.3 billion in all for the CJ–Arkema complex on 70 hectares of the park. In 2018 it employed more than 500 people and earned about RM1.5 billion a year, 95% from exports
- Expansion: Arkema says the site went into service in 2015 and was expanded in 2019
Neither CJ nor Arkema had said publicly by 11 October what happens to Arkema's unit, the equipment or the land lease.
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