Another global chemical industry giant sells businesses, shuts down plants, and cuts 1,800 jobs!

Following last month’s announcement by AkzoNobel—one of the world’s leading paint companies—that it plans to cut 2,000 jobs to enhance cost efficiency, another Fortune 500 paint industry leader has now officially announced plans for workforce reduction and business divestitures. On October 17, PPG Industries—a world-leading supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials—announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with U.S.-based industrial investor American Industrial Partners (AIP) to sell its architectural coatings businesses in the United States and Canada for $550 million (approximately RMB 3.917 billion). The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024 or early 2025. On the same day, PPG also unveiled a comprehensive cost-reduction initiative projected to save approximately $175 million annually in pre-tax expenses—$60 million of which is expected in 2025. The plan includes structural cost reductions across its global operations: divesting its silica products business and the aforementioned architectural coatings business; cutting 1,800 jobs across the U.S. and Europe; and closing multiple manufacturing facilities. Specifically, the divested U.S. and Canadian architectural coatings business encompasses nearly ten brands, including GLIDDEN® and OLYMPIC®. It covers the production and sale of interior and exterior wall paints, stains, caulks, repair products, adhesives, and sealants. The assets being sold include seven manufacturing plants in the U.S. and two in Canada; 12 distribution centers; and over 15,000 distribution points—including 750 company-owned stores and 6,600 independent distributors—a substantial scale of operations. Reportedly, this U.S. and Canadian architectural coatings business accounted for approximately $2 billion of PPG’s total net sales in 2023, with an EBITDA margin in the low single digits. Divesting this business is expected to significantly reduce costs and improve both the coatings segment’s and the company’s overall profitability. This streamlining effort primarily targets underperforming businesses. In addition to the regional architectural coatings business being sold, PPG also plans to divest its silica business. According to PPG, its coatings businesses in Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region remain market leaders in multiple regions and will continue to serve as core pillars of the company’s portfolio. Founded in 1883 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG is a long-established U.S. Fortune 500 enterprise specializing in paints, coatings, and specialty materials. Its primary products—paints, coatings, and specialty materials—are widely applied across construction, consumer goods, industrial manufacturing, and transportation sectors.

The world’s largest automotive refinish paint brand changes hands: PPG overtakes Axalta for the first time

On August 10, 2026, TuJie—the China Coatings Industry’s professional financial media outlet—released the “2026 Global Top 10 Automotive Refinish Paint Brands Ranking” (Note: Click here to view the full list). On this globally unique and authoritative ranking for the automotive refinish paint industry, a historic shift quietly occurred: U.S.-based PPG claimed the top spot for the first time, with $2.064 billion in sales revenue and an 18.76% global market share; while Axalta—long the undisputed leader in this sector—slipped to second place with $2.051 billion in sales revenue and an 18.65% global market share. Though the gap between them is razor-thin—just $13 million and 0.11 percentage points—this 0.11-point lead marks the formal transfer of leadership for the world’s largest automotive refinish paint brand. For several years, Axalta had been regarded as the uncontested leader in the automotive refinish paint segment. With over 150 years of history in the coatings industry, Axalta serves more than 90,000 body shops across over 140 countries worldwide. Yet in fiscal year 2025, this century-old company encountered a growth bottleneck. Its annual financial report revealed that Axalta’s total net sales stood at $5.12 billion, down 3% year-on-year; its automotive refinish paint business generated $2.051 billion in revenue—down sharply by 5.2% year-on-year. Although the company achieved a record-high adjusted EBITDA margin of 22% through product portfolio optimization and cost control, persistently declining sales volume eroded its scale advantage in this core segment. Meanwhile, Axalta finds itself amid large-scale consolidation across the global coatings industry—the proposed equal-merger with AkzoNobel is underway, potentially diverting management attention and resources away from competitive efforts in the refinish paint market. In stark contrast to Axalta’s sales contraction, PPG demonstrated greater resilience in its refinish paint business. Although PPG Industries reported $15.875 billion in total net sales for fiscal year 2025—essentially flat year-on-year—its automotive refinish paint business experienced a mid-single-digit percentage decline in organic sales due to lower volumes. However, price increases partially offset this decline. It was precisely through this “price-for-volume” strategy that PPG managed to stabilize its revenue base amid volatile market demand. According to PPG’s publicly disclosed financial community materials, its automotive refinish paint business accounted for approximately 13% of the company’s total revenue in fiscal year 2025—equivalent to $2.064 billion. Additionally, in early 2026, PPG acquired EMM International—a Dutch manufacturer of collision repair spray tools—potentially further strengthening its integrated competitiveness across the refinish paint value chain.

26 ETFs Add to PPG Industries (PPG) on Oct. 16

11 hours ago

On October 16, 26 ETFs added $154.5 million in PPG Industries stock, driven by major funds like FTCS and SPY. The global paint and coatings supplier reported $16.42 billion in revenue with stock up 6.92% year-to-date.

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