In view of the planned closure of plants belonging to the US company Dow, associations and chambers see a danger not only for the chemical industry in central Germany. The construction industry in eastern Germany is also at risk, according to the Construction Industry Association East.
Dow is an important producer of many relevant chemical building materials such as binders or adhesives and sealants. "A discontinuation could disrupt supply chains and make the availability of chemical building materials more difficult," warned the association.
The Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce also sees the announcement as a threat to the chemical industry in central Germany. "The decision is bad news," said IHK President Sascha Gläßer. The announcement comes as no surprise, but is all the more alarming.
"Industrial location losing competitiveness"
"Germany is increasingly losing competitiveness as an industrial location," he said. The chemical industry in particular is suffering from a sharp rise in energy prices, high site costs and lengthy approval procedures. It is now important to use the remaining time until decommissioning to avoid a domino effect.
Greens see looming dependencies
Dow announced on Monday that it would be closing some of its plants in Schkopau in Saxony-Anhalt and Böhlen in Saxony at the end of 2027. According to the company, this will directly affect around 550 employees.
The Greens in Saxony also see the closure of the plants as a threat to supply chains. "The past years of crisis have shown us that we need to invest in independent European production," said Wolfram Günther, economic policy spokesperson for the Green parliamentary group in Saxony's state parliament. The news of the planned closures is a setback for efforts to achieve greater independence,
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