Major industry layoffs: BASF, Evonik, Dow, Wacker, and Others Cut 12,550 Jobs
On May 8, Wacker Chemie reached an agreement with employee representatives to cut approximately 1,600 jobs in Germany by the end of 2027, representing 10% of its global workforce.
According to reports, Alex Riedelbach, Vice President of ICIS, stated that the global petrochemical market is unlikely to recover in the short term, and enterprises must make difficult decisions and adjust their scale accordingly. Data from the German Chemical Industry Association shows that industry capacity utilization has fallen to a historic low of 70%. This wave of layoffs is essentially a structural industry consolidation driven by long-term supply-demand imbalances.
Global Chemical Industry Leaders’ Layoff Moves Intensify
On January 29, Dow Inc. launched its “Transformation for Efficiency” comprehensive restructuring plan, aiming to eliminate approximately 4,500 positions—about 13% of its global workforce—and incur one-time costs of $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion, with the goal of achieving at least $2 billion in annual operating EBITDA improvement.
On February 26, Arkema announced that its workforce would decrease by about 3% annually over the next three years, with an expected reduction of around 1,800 employees.
On March 19, LANXESS announced plans to cut 550 jobs, with about two-thirds based in Germany, aiming to achieve annual cost savings of around 100 million euros by the end of 2028.
On May 9, BASF laid off approximately 100 employees—nearly half of the total workforce—at its McIntosh, Alabama plant in the United States, due to rising costs and industry pressures that have made the plant unprofitable.
On May 9, Continental Group's ContiTech announced it would cut approximately 3,000 jobs globally, of which around 1,600 are in Germany.
The company has reached an agreement with the German Mining, Chemical and Energy Workers' Union on the framework conditions for layoffs. The layoff plan prioritizes voluntary programs, and there will be no compulsory layoffs by the end of 2030, as part of the cost-saving plan announced by Continental Group in November 2025, aiming to save 150 million euros annually starting in 2028.
On May 9, Evonik Industries AG announced that, through its “Evonik Customized” three-year efficiency enhancement program combined with optimization measures across its business units, it will eliminate a total of 1,000 positions globally by 2026.
The company has cut more than 850 full-time positions in 2025, and the total number of layoffs is expected to reach 2,000 by the end of 2026, with 1,500 in Germany, and the management hierarchy will be reduced from 10 levels to a maximum of 6 levels. There are currently no plans for large-scale layoffs in the China region.
Above is the summary of layoffs by global chemical industry leaders in 2026, as of May 11, 2026, with a total of more than 12,550 people!
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Major industry layoffs: BASF, Evonik, Dow, Wacker, and Others Cut 12,550 Jobs
