James Hardie Industries to Make Lump Sum Asbestos Payment

May 17 , 2006 - Following in the footsteps of other companies that have recently reached a decision to make lump sum compensation payments to mesothelioma sufferers, James Hardie Industries of Australia has earmarked $716 million for asbestos payments.  According to an article in the Financial Times, the construction materials company – which is now headquartered in the Netherlands – wiped out its year-to-date profits due to this provision, and has posted a net loss of $506.7 million for the year.

James Hardie is one of the companies most affected by asbestos exposure claims.  Though this Australian manufacturer - which was founded more than a century ago - stopped using asbestos products in 1987, it was too late for thousands of employees who had already been sickened with the asbestos-causing cancer known as mesothelioma, as well as a host of other asbestos-related diseases. 

It is estimated that James Hardie may eventually need to pay out about $2.2 billion in asbestos claims and that, by 2021, as many as 45,000 Australians will have been sickened by asbestos.  Many will place the blame on James Hardie Industries.

The company, whose U.S. division accounts for 80% of its group sales, moved to the Netherlands in 2001, claiming that it was relocating due to tax advantages.  Many critics of James Hardie, however, believe that the business moved there in order to attempt to minimize its responsibility to asbestos victims.