The Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce sees the closure of plants belonging to the US company Dow 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.
"Germany is increasingly losing its 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. Gläßer said that it was 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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