In 2025, 44 major chemical companies worldwide underwent major streamlining: shutting down facilities, selling businesses, and cutting jobs.

In November, according to Reuters, Eastman will cut approximately 7% of its workforce. Eastman employs roughly 14,000 people globally; a 7% reduction would affect about 980 employees. Eastman stated that these layoffs will generate total inflation-adjusted cost savings of $175 million in 2025 and 2026, aimed at addressing declining profitability in its fibers and chemical intermediates divisions. 18. Honeywell In May, Honeywell completed the all-cash sale of its personal protective equipment (PPE) business to Protective Industrial Products, Inc. for $1.325 billion. 19. Clariant In November, reports indicated that Clariant plans to close its last remaining production site in Switzerland next year. The company manufactures specialty chemicals for cosmetics, agriculture, and industrial applications. Headquartered in Muttenz, Switzerland, Clariant operates 68 production facilities worldwide. In December, Clariant completed the sale of its Venezuelan legal entity (Clariant Venezuela S.A.) to Venezuelan firm CMV Química C.A. Clariant’s 2024 Venezuelan operations generated sales of approximately CHF 3 million and employed around 60 people. 20. Ascend Performance Materials In April, Ascend filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization; it completed the restructuring process in December. In June, Ascend decided to shut down its adipic diamine production facility in Lianyungang, China (capacity: 200,000 tons/year), which had only commenced operations in October of the previous year. 21. Westlake Chemical In June, Westlake decided to permanently close its bisphenol A (150,000 tons/year) and liquid epoxy resin (100,000 tons/year) units at its Pernis plant in the Netherlands. It also confirmed it would not restart its allyl chloride and epichlorohydrin units at the same site—units that had been idled since July 2024—resulting in the loss of approximately 230 jobs. In December, Westlake announced the closure of three U.S. vinyl chloride plants and one U.S. styrene plant: a 450,000-ton/year suspension polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Aberdeen, Mississippi; a 413,000-ton/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/year styrene plant, also 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 In July, Röhm closed its Westwego, Louisiana facility—a move aligned with the commissioning of its new methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Bay City, Texas. The new plant utilizes Röhm’s proprietary LiMA technology and has an annual capacity of 250,000 tons. 23. Arlanxeo In October, Arlanxeo announced plans to cease operations at its Port-Jérôme plant in France. Arlanxeo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, produces 100,000 tons/year of polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and 40,000 tons/year of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) at this site. It also operates a production base in La Wantzenau, France.

According to global authoritative institutions, amid the ongoing wave of chemical industry capacity shutdowns, is the era of supply-demand rebalancing approaching?

If all announced permanent capacity shutdown plans by multinational corporations are fully implemented, global chemical industry capacity utilization is projected to peak as early as 2028—marking the beginning of a new phase for the global chemical market. Structural adjustment in the chemical industry is accelerating. Over the past three years, volatile global energy prices, geopolitical tensions, and slowing demand growth have jointly squeezed corporate profit margins—forcing the chemical industry to reassess its capacity layout. According to publicly available information, globally announced ethylene capacity shutdown plans for 2025–2028 total as high as 7.8 million tons/year. South Korea alone plans to shutter 2.7–3.7 million tons/year of ethylene capacity. Meanwhile, among approximately 10.5 million tons/year of newly planned ethylene capacity, some projects face delays or cancellation risks. Taken together, the withdrawal of existing capacity and uncertainty surrounding new capacity further reinforce expectations of tightening supply. China’s ethylene capacity faces immense pressure to transform. As a pivotal global chemical market, any capacity-related developments in China exert far-reaching impacts. Ahmed specifically pointed out that China operates four ethane-based steam crackers reliant on U.S. ethane imports, with a combined capacity of 3.7 million tons/year. Long-standing high U.S.-China tariffs pose substantial risk of shutdown for these facilities. Additionally, China’s 11 million tons/year mixed-feedstock ethylene capacity could see annual output reduced by 1.7 million tons if propane supplies are disrupted and naphtha is substituted as feedstock. China is currently advancing policies to optimize and consolidate outdated capacity—potentially phasing out aging, small-scale facilities totaling 6.1 million tons/year—which will further intensify future global supply pressures. If all announced shutdown plans materialize, the supply-demand landscape will inevitably be reshaped. Should all these shutdown initiatives be fully realized—totaling 29.8 million tons/year—the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of global ethylene capacity from 2024 to 2029 would decline to just 0.8%. Consequently, global ethylene capacity utilization is expected to surpass 90% as early as 2028, ushering the market into a tight-balance era.

Westlake Chemical Closes Cologne PVC Plant, Altering Investment Outlook

Oct 8, 2026

Westlake Chemical is closing its high-cost PVC facility in Cologne, Germany, incurring $205 million in charges due to weak demand and high energy costs. The move aims to optimize its chlorovinyl footprint and improve long-term profitability.

Simply Wall Street

2026-01-04

Expectations for Global PVC Production Cuts Intensify

2026-02-24

Westlake Q4 Earnings Beat Amid Accelerated Cost Cutting

2026-03-02

Westlake Chemical Partners LP Filed Annual Report

2026-03-05

Westlake Chemical Partners Posts Full 2025 Annual Report Online

2026-03-13

Westlake Chemical Partners LP Files S-3 Shelf Registration Statement