Dow recently announced that, as a follow-up to the European asset actions first announced in April 2025, its board of directors has approved the shutdown of three upstream assets in Europe, in addition to certain corporate and other assets across the company's global asset footprint.

The company announced that its Packaging & Specialty Plastics ethylene cracker in Böhlen, Germany, will close in the fourth quarter of 2027. The company’s Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure division’s chlor-alkali & vinyl (CAV) assets in Schkopau, Germany, is expected to shut down in the fourth quarter of 2027. The Performance Materials & Coatings division of Dow will close its basics siloxanes plant in Barry, U.K., in mid-year 2026. 

According to Dow, the shutdown of upstream assets in Europe will right size regional capacity, reduce merchant sale exposure, and remove higher-cost, energy-intensive portions of Dow's portfolio in the region, improving the company’s ability to supply profitable derivative demand and optimize margins.

"Our industry in Europe continues to face difficult market dynamics, as well as an ongoing challenging cost and demand landscape," said Jim Fitterling, Dow chair and CEO. "Over the past decade, we have demonstrated Dow's commitment to operating with a best-owner mindset by taking proactive actions across higher-cost or non-strategic assets. Looking ahead, we remain committed to realizing the value of our incremental growth investments and enhancing profitability and cash flow through more than $6 billion in near-term cash support."

In April 2025, the company announced it had identified three assets in Europe for action across all of its operating segments. On June 30, 2025, Dow's board of directors approved restructuring actions to rationalize the company's global asset footprint, including these three assets as part of its European review, and certain corporate and other assets.

Dow reports that actions to shut down these assets will result in an operating EBITDA uplift beginning in 2026, ramping to 50% of the approximate $200 million target by year-end 2027 with full delivery by 2029, with a cash outlay of approximately $500 million over four years.

Approximately 800 Dow roles will be impacted as a result of these actions. These roles are in addition to the $1 billion cost savings actions announced in January that included a workforce reduction of approximately 1,500 Dow roles globally.

Learn more about Dow at www.dow.com.