Midland's Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) said Wednesday it would shut down three plants in Louisiana and lay off 2,500 workers, part of a $1.3 billion cost reduction plan.
Included are ethylene and ethylene-derivative assets -- an ethylene cracker and ethylene oxide-ethylene glycol production unit in Hahnville, La., and an ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer facility in Plaquemine, La.
Coupled with the shutdowns of four other plants in Texas in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, Dow said the moves will reduce its ethylene demand by approximately 30 percent on the U.S. Gulf Coast. As a result, Dow expects to eliminate its purchases of ethylene from the merchant market (approximately three billion pounds annually), improving the company's cost position while fully integrating ethylene production with internal demand in order to better meet customer needs.
More at www.dow.com.
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