Ineos, Dow Shut Plants: How Many Chemical Plants Have Closed in Europe?

October in Europe brings a chill in the air. Within just one week, INEOS, Dow, SinoPec, and Alcatel-Lucent have successively announced plant closures and layoffs. Combined with earlier closures this year by BASF, Lanxess, and Shell, the wave of shutdowns in Europe's chemical industry shows no signs of abating.

INEOS: Two More Plants to Close. On October 6, INEOS announced it would shut down two key facilities in Rheingarten, Germany, eliminating approximately 175 jobs. These plants primarily produce raw materials such as epichlorohydrin, chlorine, and caustic soda. On October 7, INEOS announced a 20% workforce reduction at its acetyl plant in Hull, UK. This facility is the largest producer of chemicals like acetic acid and acetic anhydride in the UK and Europe. Additionally, INEOS plans to: - Shut down its phenol plant in Gladbeck, Germany (650,000 tons/year phenol, 409,000 tons/year acetone); - Close its propylene oxide and propylene glycol production facilities in Cologne, Germany; - Withdraw from relevant working groups of the European Chemical Industry Council by 2026.

Siemens AG: Permanently shutting down MMA and acetone cyanohydrin operations. On October 6, Siemens AG announced a strategic plan to permanently close its Italian methyl methacrylate (MMA) and acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) production facilities by year-end. MMA feedstock will be sourced externally thereafter to maintain production.

Dow: Closing Belgian polyol plant. On October 2, Dow Chemical announced it will permanently close its polyether polyol plant (55,000 tons/year) in Belgium by the end of Q1 2026. This will impact 37 employees and 8 contractors. Additionally, Dow plans to: - Close an ethylene cracker (510,000 tons/year ethylene, 250,000 tons/year propylene) in Bueren, Germany, and chlor-alkali and vinyl assets (250,000 tons/year chlorine, 275,000 tons/year caustic soda) in Schickau, Germany, by the end of 2027 ; and close a base silicone plant in Bury, UK, by mid-2026.

Alam Newco: Closing a 140,000-ton synthetic rubber base. On October 2, Aramco subsidiary Alar Newco France Elastomer announced plans to cease operations at its synthetic rubber production base in Port-Jérôme, northern France. The base has a total capacity of 140,000 tons, producing neodymium-based butadiene rubber and solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber.

Solvay, Celanese, Arkema... announce plant closures. Solvay announced in September 2025 that it would shut down part of its production lines at the Bad Wimpfen plant in Germany. The company will cease production of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)-related organic compounds in early 2026 and gradually halt production of certain inorganic compounds, including hydrogen fluoride, by the end of 2026. This will result in the layoff of approximately 100 employees at the facility. In July this year, Celanese decided to permanently close its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant in Frankfurt, Germany. The facility had been temporarily idled in 2024 and is now being permanently retired. The reason cited was “persistent weakness in the European VAM market and persistently high costs.” Arkema announced in July this year that it would restructure its French plants, ceasing production of chlorine, soda ash, chloromethane, and technical fluids. Between June and July this year, BASF successively announced the closure or sale of multiple production lines at its integrated site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Facilities for adipic acid, cyclododecanone, cyclopentanone, caprolactam, synthetic ammonia, and TDI were all included in the exit list. In June, Westlake announced the shutdown of its bisphenol A and liquid epoxy resin units at the Pernis plant in the Netherlands. It also confirmed that the chloropropylene and epichlorohydrin units, which halted production in July 2024, will not restart. The entire facility is scheduled for closure in 2025. In June, Solvay confirmed the permanent shutdown of its 160,000-ton-per-year polycarbonate plant in Stade, Germany. The company attributed the decision to “long-term losses” at the site due to declining European demand and widening energy-to-raw-material price differentials. Lanxess announced in Q2 that it would accelerate the closure of its caprolactam facility at the Krefeld-Uchting site in Germany, moving the shutdown to the end of Q2 2025. SGL Carbon announced in May that as part of restructuring its loss-making carbon fiber business, it would close its Portuguese production site (manufacturing acrylic fiber and carbon fiber precursors). Production activities will cease by June 2025, with full shutdown completed by the end of 2026. Following an assessment in May, Huntsman decided to shut down its maleic anhydride plant in Mersing, Germany, by the end of the second quarter. Additionally, its PU plant in Ingermanland was also announced for closure. TotalEnergies announced in April this year that it will permanently shut down an aging cracking unit at its Antwerp refining and petrochemical complex in Belgium by the end of 2027. The unit has an annual capacity of 550,000 tons of ethylene and 230,000 tons of propylene. Shell announced in March this year the closure of several European plants, including its paraxylene assets in Weserling, Germany, and its methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) facility in Pernis, Netherlands. In July, it decided to shut down the aromatics and olefins units at its integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Rhineland, Germany, along with certain olefins and derivatives units in Moerdijk, Netherlands. Additionally, Dow plans to phase out its cracker at Moorsmere, UK, between 2026 and 2027. In February, Chemours announced its European strategic realignment, shelving expansion plans at its French plant and exiting the surface protection solutions business.

The wave of European chemical plant closures continues to intensify. Despite the EU launching its Chemicals Industry Action Plan earlier this year, the initiative has failed to halt further shutdowns of European chemical production capacity in recent months. Relevant data indicates that in the first half of 2025, European chemical output declined by 2.4% year-on-year, while imports increased by 5.4%. Currently, sentiment in Europe's chemical industry remains subdued: weak demand, high energy costs, and persistent market pressure from low-priced imports persist. The sector urgently requires robust domestic demand to achieve significant growth, yet no positive shift in domestic demand has been observed to date. Most downstream users continue to face pessimistic business outlooks.