(AP) — A specialty chemicals company and Kentucky mainstay has announced it will move its corporate headquarters to Delaware.

News outlets cite a Tuesday statement from Ashland Inc. saying the company will move its headquarters from Covington to Wilmington, Delaware, within the next 17 months.

The Lexington office employs 58, and will be shuttered. Some jobs will be relocated to Wilmington or Dublin, Ohio, while others will work remotely. The Covington office will be downsized from 48 to 15 employees, with some roles also relocated.

The company says it will retain workers in Kentucky. Its manufacturing plant in Marshall County employs 515 workers and will remain open.

Employees whose jobs are eliminated will be offered "enhanced severance benefits."

Ashland was founded as an oil company in its namesake city in 1924.