Dow cuts back

The Dow Chemical Company has announced a series of aggressive actions to cut costs in light of the industry downturn.

The company plans to eliminate approximately 5,000 full-time jobs, close 20 facilities and divest several of its non-strategic businesses.

The job reductions represent a reduction of roughly 11 per cent of Dow’s global workforce. 

Once fully implemented, the actions are expected to result in $700m (£472.5m) in annual operating cost savings by 2010.

In addition, again reflecting poor current market conditions, Dow will temporarily idle approximately 180 plants and significantly reduce its contractor workforce worldwide by approximately 6,000.

The company has annual sales of $54bn (£36.5bn) and employs 46,000 people worldwide.