The European chemical industry's 'shutdown wave': Exactly how many chemical plants have been shut down—list them all for you.

Shell: In March 2025, the company announced it was exploring strategic partnerships in the U.S. while planning to shut down certain European facilities, including its ortho-/para-xylene assets in Wesseling, Germany, and its methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) facility in Pernis, the Netherlands. In July 2025, Shell upgraded its 'evaluation scope' to a 'formal exit plan', deciding to shut down aromatic and olefin units at its Rheinland integrated refining & petrochemical complex in Germany, as well as select olefin and derivative units at its Moerdijk site in the Netherlands. The planned phased shutdown of the cracker unit at Mossmorran, UK, will occur between 2026 and 2027. TotalEnergies: In April 2025, the company announced it would permanently shut down an aging cracker unit at its Antwerp refinery-petrochemical complex in Belgium by the end of 2027; the unit has annual capacities of 550,000 tons of ethylene and 230,000 tons of propylene. SGL Carbon: In May 2025, as part of its restructuring of its loss-making carbon fiber business, SGL Carbon announced the closure of its Lavradio production site in Portugal (producing acrylic fibers and carbon fiber precursors). Production will cease in June 2025, with full shutdown completed by the end of 2026. Lanxess: In Q2 2025, the company announced it had accelerated the shutdown of its caprolactam plant at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany to be completed by the end of Q2 2025. BASF: Between June and July 2025, BASF successively announced the closure or divestment of multiple production lines at its Ludwigshafen integrated site in Germany—including adipic acid, cyclododecanone (CDON), cyclopentanone (CPON), caprolactam, synthetic ammonia, and TDI units. The company stated this move aims to adjust its production structure to adapt to evolving market conditions and ensure long-term profitability across its value chain. This represents BASF’s largest-scale 'streamlining' action in Europe since shutting down select ammonia and methanol units in 2023–2024. Westlake: In June 2025, Westlake announced the closure of its bisphenol A and liquid epoxy resin units at its Pernis plant in the Netherlands—and confirmed it would not restart its allyl chloride and epichlorohydrin units, which had already ceased operations in July 2024; the entire Pernis plant will close in 2025. Trinseo: In June 2025, Trinseo confirmed the permanent shutdown of its 160,000-ton-per-year polycarbonate (PC) plant in Stade, Germany. The company cited declining European demand and widening energy and raw material cost differentials causing the site to operate at a 'long-term loss'. Dow: In Q4 2025, Dow will announce new shutdown plans, halting a chemical recycling project at its Böhlen, Germany facility—a project with investment exceeding USD 100 million. The immediate reason is the planned shutdown of its main cracker unit; deeper drivers include Europe’s high energy costs (accounting for up to 40% of operating expenses), persistently weak end-market demand, and stringent regulatory conditions rendering such investments economically unviable. INEOS: Its exit initiatives spanned from January to July 2025.

In 2025, 44 major chemical companies 'slim down' significantly: shutting down facilities, selling businesses, and cutting jobs.

November: According to Reuters, Eastman plans to cut nearly 7% of its global workforce. With approximately 14,000 employees worldwide, this reduction could affect around 980 people. Eastman stated that these layoffs will deliver USD 175 million in total cost savings (net of inflation) over 2025 and 2026, aimed at addressing declining profitability in its fibers and chemical intermediates businesses. 18. Honeywell May: Honeywell completed the all-cash sale of its Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) business to Protective Industrial Products, Inc. for USD 1.325 billion. 19. Clariant November: Reports indicate Clariant plans to close its last remaining production site in Switzerland next year. The facility produces specialty chemicals for cosmetics, agriculture, and industrial applications. Clariant’s headquarters are in Muttenz, Switzerland, and it operates 68 production sites globally. December: Clariant completed the sale of its Venezuelan legal entity (Clariant Venezuela S.A.) to Venezuelan firm CMV Química C.A. Clariant’s 2024 sales in Venezuela totaled approximately CHF 3 million, with around 60 employees. 20. Ascend Performance Materials April: Ascend initiated Chapter 11 restructuring proceedings; the process concluded in December. June: Ascend decided to close its hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) production plant in Lianyungang, China (capacity: 200,000 tons/year)—a facility that had only commenced operations in October of the previous year. 21. Westlake Chemical June: Westlake Chemical decided to close its bisphenol A (150,000 tons/year) and liquid epoxy resin (100,000 tons/year) units at its Pernis plant in the Netherlands—and confirmed it would not restart its allyl chloride and epichlorohydrin units, which had halted production in July 2024. This closure is expected to eliminate approximately 230 jobs. December: Westlake Chemical decided to close three U.S. vinyl chloride plants and one U.S. styrene plant, including: a 450,000-ton-per-year suspension polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Aberdeen, Mississippi; a 413,000-ton-per-year vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana; a membrane-type chlor-alkali facility in Lake Charles (375,000 tons/year chlorine, 413,000 tons/year caustic soda); and a 259,000-ton-per-year styrene plant also located in Lake Charles. Westlake stated it will continue supplying PVC, VCM, and chlor-alkali products from its other seven North American vinyl chloride plants, while exiting the styrene business entirely. These closures are expected to result in approximately 295 job losses. 22. Röhm GmbH July: Röhm closed its Westwego, Louisiana facility—coinciding with the commissioning of its new, state-of-the-art methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Bay City, Texas. The new plant employs Röhm’s proprietary LiMA technology and has an annual capacity of 250,000 tons. 23. ARLANXEO October: ARLANXEO announced plans to cease operations at its Port-Jérôme plant in France. ARLANXEO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, operates a facility producing 100,000 tons/year of polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and 40,000 tons/year of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). It also maintains a production site in La Wantzenau, France.

Business Watch: Westlake to close PVC plant in Cologne, and more

Sep 29, 2026

Westlake announced the closure of its PVC plant in Cologne, while surging freight rates due to the Iran War threaten to drag down chemical earnings similar to the COVID-19 era.

cen

2026-02-24

Westlake looks to ‘self-help’ to drive earnings, but also eyes better demand

2026-08-04

Westlake Plans Full-Capacity US Operations with No Major Second-Half Turnarounds

2026-09-29

Business Watch: Westlake to close PVC plant in Cologne, and more

Business Watch: Westlake to close PVC plant in Cologne, and more

FAQ