Chemicals maker Dow announced that it will cut around 4,500 roles, or 13% of the company's total workforce, under a sweeping restructuring aimed at boosting profitability by at least $2 billion, Reuters reported.
The company also forecasted its first-quarter revenue below market expectations, citing persistently weak demand conditions that continue to weigh on sales.
The layoff announcement comes at a time when several global chemical producers are reassessing their strategies amid sluggish demand, rising production costs in Europe, changing regulatory requirements and persistent oversupply across the world.
Shares of the company fell around 3% in premarket trading on Thursday, reflecting investor concerns over the company's soft demand outlook and cautious revenue forecast.
Dow reviews ownership of non-core assets across the globe
Dow, which began a strategic review of some European assets in 2024, has also been re-evaluating its ownership of non-core assets across its global portfolio, including power and steam production and pipelines.
In 2025, the company finalised a 40% stake sale in some US Gulf Coast infrastructure assets to a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management for $2.4 billion, so that it can continue to focus more on its chemicals business. Later, it also sold an additional stake for $540 million in September last year.
“In 2025, we achieved well over half of our more than $6.5 billion in near-term cash and cost support actions, including the accelerated delivery of more than $400 million in cost savings from our $1 billion program,” CEO Jim Fitterling was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Dow operates manufacturing sites in 29 countries and employs about 34,600 people. It expects to incur about $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion in one-time costs towards the restructuring plan in 2026 and 2027.
Revenue expectations
In its recent report, Dow said that it expects first-quarter net sales of $9.4 billion, a figure which is below analysts' average estimate of $10.33 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Meanwhile, the company's net sales in its largest business segment, packaging and speciality plastics, fell 10.7% to $4.74 billion in the fourth quarter ended 31 December, compared with a year earlier, mainly because of lower polymer prices, Reuters reported.
The Michigan-based company reported a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss of 34 cents per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of a loss of 46 cents, the agency report said.
