Recently, multiple media outlets have reported that U.S. chemical giant Dow Inc. plans to lay off 1,500 employees worldwide, accounting for approximately 4% of its total workforce.
Dow Inc. publicly announced that, in response to ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and to strengthen its long-term competitiveness, the company will implement two major measures—reducing capital expenditures and layoffs—to save approximately $1 billion annually. Specifically, the reduction in capital expenditures will include cutting spending on services and third-party contractors, achieving direct cost savings of $500 million to $700 million per year.
Jim Fitterling, Chairman and CEO of Dow Inc., stated, “Although these decisions are difficult, we must continue to take proactive steps to reduce costs while navigating a slow macroeconomic recovery.” In 2025, the company will continue to assess strategies to enhance competitiveness and take further action if necessary.
Reports indicate that Dow Inc. has disclosed plans to record costs of $250 million to $325 million in the first quarter of 2025 for cost-cutting and layoffs. This marks another significant round of layoffs following a similar move in 2023. In January 2023, Dow Inc. announced a global workforce reduction of approximately 2,000 employees, representing about 5% of its total workforce.
Alongside the layoff announcement, Dow Inc. released its latest financial report, revealing a loss of $35 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. After adjusting for one-time expenses, earnings per share were zero, and net sales declined by approximately 2% year-over-year. The company’s overall performance for 2024 continued to decline, with global net sales reaching $42.964 billion, a 3.9% decrease from the previous year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at $2.588 billion, reflecting a year-over-year drop of approximately 7%.
Regarding the decline in performance, Dow Inc. attributed it primarily to weaknesses in its packaging and specialty plastics business, which accounts for more than half of the company’s revenue. Both sales volume and pricing of its core products declined year-over-year during the reporting period.
According to publicly available information, Dow Inc. is one of the world’s leading materials science companies, serving high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, and consumer applications. Its products are used in construction, water purification, papermaking, pharmaceuticals, transportation, food and food packaging, home goods, and personal care. The company currently has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide.
