Dow closures threat prompts German chemical workers protest

Frankfurt, Germany – More than 700 employees from the central German ‘chemical triangle’ have protested against the threat of cutbacks and closures at Dow Chemical’s sites in Böhlen and Schkopau.

Dow has put central production facilities at the sites under review for cost reasons, with temporary shutdowns or permanent closure being considered, trade union IGBCE reported 28 May.

This, it said, also applies to the central steam cracker, which produces important chemical raw materials from crude gasoline and is therefore central to the local value-chain.

"Not only hundreds of well-paid and well-regulated jobs are at stake here, but the industrial future of an entire region," said IGBCE chairman Michael Vassiliadis.

"If the cracker in Böhlen were to be shut down, upstream and downstream plants in the process chain would fall like dominoes," the trade union leader warned.

Head of the IGBCE Northeast regional district, Stephanie Albrecht-Suliak added: "We are fighting together for every job." 

"The central German chemical triangle is the absolute industrial beacon in East Germany... We must not give it up lightly."