Wind shifts dramatically! Dow and Celanese adjust global production capacity layout, with Asia emerging as the new growth hub.

This year, under mounting pressure from high energy costs, intensifying market competition, and supply chain volatility, the global chemical industry has continued deep strategic adjustments. Recently, two international chemical giants—Dow Chemical and Celanese—successively implemented measures including layoffs, plant closures, and capacity relocation, actively scaling back inefficient production capacity in high-cost regions such as Europe and South Korea, while deepening their presence in Asia’s high-potential markets. A global reshaping of the chemical industry landscape has thus officially begun. European operations under pressure, Dow cuts costs while doubling down on China On June 3, Dow Chemical announced the layoff of 605 employees in the Netherlands—a key step under its "Transform Beyond" cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancement initiative. Dow operates three major production bases in the Netherlands, each with clear functional divisions and substantial scale: The Terneuzen site is Dow’s largest manufacturing base outside the U.S., housing 16 plants and approximately 3,200 employees, producing nearly 800 types of industrial chemicals and plastic products; the Delfzijl site, with over 50 years of operational history, is the world’s largest isocyanate production facility; and the Dordrecht site specializes in specialty plastics for medical and food applications, with multiple products widely used in packaging and composite adhesives. Persistent financial losses have been the core driver behind Dow’s repeated optimization of personnel and capacity. In recent years, Dow has launched multiple rounds of global cost-cutting initiatives: two large-scale layoffs in 2023 and 2025 respectively, and a comprehensive restructuring plan unveiled in January 2026 aiming to cut 4,500 jobs globally and generate an additional $2 billion in operating profit. Financial data shows Dow posted a full-year net loss exceeding $2.4 billion in 2025, and its Q1 2026 revenue declined 6% year-on-year, with a single-quarter loss of $445 million—signaling sharply escalating operational pressure. Meanwhile, geopolitical factors have disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, restricting nearly half of global ethylene and polyethylene supply; shortages of chemical raw materials and rising prices are expected to persist throughout 2026. While scaling back European operations, Dow continues to significantly ramp up investment in the Chinese market. In April 2026, Dow Silicones (Zhangjiagang) officially broke ground on its expansion project for silicone polymers, adding 2,500 tons/year of annual capacity. The Zhangjiagang site already hosts mature production lines for alcohol ethers, polyether polyols, siloxanes, and fumed silica, and is also developing downstream products—including silicone resins, liquid silicone rubber, and sealants—forming a complete industrial chain and serving as a critical production hub for Dow in China. On the personnel front, Karen S. Carter, Dow’s Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of CEO and join the Board of Directors effective July 1, 2026, to spearhead the implementation of Dow’s next strategic phase. Major capacity realignment, Celanese pivots toward China and India Shortly after Dow’s announcement, specialty materials company Celanese declared on June 4 the immediate closure of its engineering plastics compounding plant in Ulsan, South Korea. All local production capacity will be transferred to Celanese’s facilities in Nanjing and Shenzhen, China, and Silvassa, India.

2026 Global Top 50 Chemical Companies list released!

As a state-owned enterprise in China, PetroChina is aggressively investing in new production capacity. The company has completed newly built ethylene cracker units at its Jilin Petrochemical and Guangxi Petrochemical subsidiaries, with a total investment nearing $9 billion, pushing PetroChina’s annual ethylene capacity beyond 10 million tons. Moreover, several additional projects remain underway. PetroChina’s Dushanzi Petrochemical is constructing an ethylene cracker in western China, utilizing locally sourced ethane as feedstock. This facility will have an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons and cost approximately $3 billion. Additionally, PetroChina’s Blue Sea New Materials Company is building a specialized polyolefin project with an investment of $1.6 billion. 4. ExxonMobil 2025 Chemicals Sales: $40 billion ExxonMobil edged out Dow by a narrow margin of $12 million to become the largest U.S. chemical producer. Overall, however, ExxonMobil’s recent focus has centered on downsizing. Impacted by a sharp downturn in the European petrochemical market, the company announced in late 2025 the shutdown of its ethylene cracker in Fife, Scotland. ExxonMobil had previously attempted to sell the facility but failed, ultimately concluding that it could not overcome prohibitively high costs and adverse economic conditions. Earlier, the company had already closed an ethylene cracker in France. Likewise in Europe, ExxonMobil halted plans to build two plastic recycling plants in Belgium and the Netherlands, citing proposed EU regulations that would restrict the use of mass-balance accounting methods at such facilities. In the U.S., ExxonMobil suspended its $8.6-billion petrochemical complex project planned for Calhoun County, Texas, attributing the decision to unfavorable market conditions. Due to insufficient demand, the company also paused its low-carbon hydrogen project in Baytown, Texas. 5. Dow Inc. 2025 Chemicals Sales: $40 billion Jim Fitterling has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Dow, having led the company since its spin-off from DowDuPont in 2019; he remains with Dow as Executive Chairman of the Board. Karen S. Carter succeeds Jim Fitterling effective July 1, 2026. She joined Dow in 1994 and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. During Fitterling’s tenure, Dow advanced its decarbonization strategy significantly—for instance, launching an ethylene cracker project in Alberta, Canada, incorporating carbon capture and storage technology to reduce CO₂ emissions. The company also plans to install a modular nuclear reactor to supply electricity, heat, and steam to its facility in Sweeny, Texas. Recent downturns in the petrochemical sector have severely impacted Dow, particularly in Europe, where the company was forced to shut down an ethylene cracker and other assets. Earlier this year, Dow announced plans to cut 4,500 jobs—approximately 13% of its global workforce—as part of an initiative targeting an additional $2 billion in profitability.

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Dow Inc. announced that CEO Jim Fitterling will transition to Executive Chair on July 1, with COO Karen S. Carter succeeding him as CEO. This leadership change follows a multi-year succession plan aimed at continuing customer solutions and transformation.

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