Dow cuts 2400 jobs and closes facilities

An epoxy resins facility in Kina Ura, Japan is among one of the casualties following Dow Chemicals announcement that it is to eliminate approximately 2400 jobs and close about 20 manufacturing facilities in an effort to cut costs.
These actions are expected to save the company US$500M in operating costs by the end of 2014, Dow said.
The job cuts represent five per cent of the company’s global workforce. According to Dow’s Q3 earnings report, sales were US$13.6bn, down 10%. The decline was led by Europe, which decreased more than US$520M.
"The reality is we are operating in a slow-growth environment in the near-term and, while these actions are difficult, they demonstrate our resolve to tightly manage operations — particularly in Europe — and mitigate the impact of current market dynamics,” said Andrew N Liveris, Dow’s Chairman and CEO.