Dow slashes 4,500 jobs as AI and automation reshape chemical manufacturing operations

Dow Chemical says AI is the element behind 4,500 job cuts

The 129 year old chemical company uses Palantir-rival C3's AI as its software of choice. ai-pocalypse The jury is still out when it comes to determining how much job loss AI is causing. However, we now have another case study. Dow Chemical blames AI automation for its plans to cut 4,500 jobs, about 12.5 percent of its work force. The thousands of employees losing their jobs are being cut as part of a rhyming companywide initiative called "Transform to Outperform" that aims to radically simplify operations, and modernize its go-to-market playbook in the hopes of achieving $2 billion in EBITDA improvement by 2028. "The goal of Transform to Outperform is to achieve significant growth and productivity gains that elevate Dow's competitive position," said Karen S. Carter , Dow's chief operating officer, in the press release announcing the initiative. "We are building on the momentum of our current self-help measures - transforming Dow into a company that is more resilient, consistently delivers growth, enables customer success, and delivers greater shareholder value across the cycle." Dow is one of the biggest enterprises working with Palantir rival C3 AI, which uses a digital twin to map a company, its employees, products, and its processes in a hunt to find efficiencies. "C3 AI has been pivotal in transforming Dow's operations from reactive to predictive, optimizing asset performance to drive value. As we scale these solutions across Dow's portfolio, we anticipate significant benefits," said Debra Bauler, chief information and digital officer at Dow in a June 2025 press release. "We look forward to continuing our partnership with C3 AI as we advance a world-class predictive maintenance program and uncover further opportunities to enhance efficiency, reliability, and productivity throughout our operations." The two companies partnered last year on a predictive maintenance solution for the petrochemical industry through Dow's subsidiary Univation Technologies, which was allowed to license and install C3 AI products. "Our work with Dow sets the standard for how industrial companies can use AI to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize performance," said Ed Abbo, Chief Technology Officer, C3 AI in the same June press release. "And this collaboration with Univation will accelerate adoption of this proven, domain-specific AI application across the broader petrochemical industry and support modernization across the market by delivering real, measurable benefits of AI at scale." El Reg asked Dow spokesperson to name the processes, software, and technologies that Dow plans to use to replace its employees, but the chemical giant didn't address the question. "Through this work, we are leveraging best‑in‑class practices from across industries and high‑impact technologies, such as automation and AI, as we radically simplify our operating model and modernize how we serve our customers," the spokesperson told The Register. Dow's employee numbers have held steady to around 36,000 since 2019. While the company did hire about 2,000 new employees between 2022 and 2023, growing to 37,800, by last year that number was back down to 36,000, according to annual reports and proxy filings. Dow expects to spend $1.5 billion in one-time costs related to the job cuts with $600 million to $800 million of that going to severance for those let go, or between $133,333 and $177,777 per employee. ®

Chemical maker Dow is cutting 4,500 jobs, will rely on AI

Chemical maker Dow Inc. is the latest company to announce substantial layoffs as it pivots to a stronger reliance on artificial intelligence and automation. The company, on Thursday, announced it would cut 4,500 jobs as part of a streamlining operation it calls "Transform to Outperform." The cuts will provide a $2 billion boost in near-term revenue, the company said, but will bring with them between $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion in one-time costs, including severance and other costs. The moves represent roughly 12% of the company's workforce. Dow had 36,000 employees as of December 2024, according to Bloomberg. "The goal of Transform to Outperform is to achieve significant growth and productivity gains that elevate Dow's competitive position," said Karen S. Carter, Dow's chief operating officer, in a statement. "We are building on the momentum of our current self-help measures - transforming Dow into a company that is more resilient, consistently delivers growth, enables customer success, and delivers greater shareholder value across the cycle." Shares of the company were up roughly 3% in pre-market trading. Dow, like other chemical companies, has seen demand flatten in recent years, along with stricter regulations and higher production costs. In its most recent earnings, which were also announced Thursday morning, the company reported an adjusted loss of 34 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations of a 46 cent loss. The company credited "self-help measures" for the beat. Dow joins a growing number of companies that are shrinking their workforce. Pinterest $PINS, earlier this week, announced plans to reduce its workforce by 15% and Amazon $AMZN, on Wednesday, said it would cut 16,000 jobs, as it pushed AI and efficiency.

Dow to Cut About 4,500 Jobs as Emphasis Shifts to AI and Automation

Dow is planning to cut approximately 4,500 jobs as the chemicals maker puts more emphasis on using artificial intelligence and automation in its business. The company said Thursday that it anticipates about $600 million to $800 million in severance costs related to the cuts. Those costs are part of a broader plan aimed at simplifying operations and streamlining. Shares of Dow Inc., which has about 34,600 employees globally, fell 2% before the market opened. Dow is based in Midland, Michigan. In January 2025 Dow executives said the company was seeking $1 billion in cost savings and anticipated cutting about 1,500 jobs worldwide. In July, it announced the closings of three European plants that would eliminate 800 jobs. There have been thousands of job cuts announced this week after a frustrating year for U.S. job seekers. Amazon slashed about 16,000 corporate roles on Wednesday -- just three months after laying off another 14,000 workers. And United Parcel Service said on Tuesday that it plans to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs this year. And like Dow, Pinterest said this week that it was cutting jobs partially due to increased usage of AI. Americans are feeling increasingly anxious about the odds of finding a job, or getting a better one. Economists have said that businesses are largely at a "no-hire, no fire" standstill. Hiring has stagnated overall -- with the country adding a meager 50,000 jobs last month, down from a revised figure of 56,000 in November. Rising operational costs have accompanied layoffs in some sectors, and business leaders cite rising costs, including those from President Donald Trump's tariffs, as well as shifts in spending. Consumer expectations for the U.S. economy has plummeted to its lowest level since 2014. That is occurring as some businesses reduce their workforces as they redirect money toward artificial intelligence, often baked into wider corporate restructuring.

Amazon, UPS and Other Major Companies Are Making Big Job Cuts. Is AI To Blame?

Some analysts say companies may be "AI-washing" layoffs -- blaming AI to distract from deeper problems. The labor market limped into 2026, and big layoff announcements in recent weeks have added fresh anxiety to the fragile jobs picture. Amazon.com (AMZN) said it plans to eliminate about 16,000 corporate roles, while United Parcel Service (UPS) announced 30,000 new job cuts, following an even larger reduction last year. Chemical manufacturing company Dow (DOW) slashed 4,500 jobs, or roughly 12% of its workforce, while Home Depot (HD) and Nike (NKE) each cut hundreds more. For many workers, the fear isn't just about layoffs -- it's about why they're happening. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 71% of Americans worry their job. With AI frequently cited in corporate earnings calls and layoff announcements, it's easy to connect the dots. But when economists and labor researchers dig into the data, a more complicated -- and far less AI-driven picture -- emerges. Workers are echoing what they're hearing from the top. Prominent CEOs, from Salesforce's Marc Benioff to Ford's Jim Farley to Anthropic's Dario Amodei, have said that AI is coming for their jobs. A string of major reports has only sparked wider worries. A November Stanford study using ADP payroll data found that early-career workers in had a 16% employment decline after ChatGPT's release. The World Economic Forum reported last year that 41% of employers planned to shrink their workforce where AI can automate tasks. The International Monetary Fund estimated last month that 60% of jobs in advanced economies are "exposed" to AI. Workers who haven't adapted well to the technology have seen their employment drop by 3.6%. Despite all that, when researchers look for AI's fingerprints in the employment data, they're not finding much. The Yale Budget Lab analyzed U.S. labor market data from ChatGPT's November 2022 release through late 2025 and didn't find any major shifts yet in the labor market. The share of workers in jobs with high, medium, and low AI exposure has remained "remarkably steady," the researchers concluded. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas economists argued much the same in a report out last month, saying the overall impact from AI has been "small and subtle." Challenger, Gray & Christmas's report on 2025 job losses gives us a broader picture. Of the 1.2 million job cuts announced in 2025, AI was blamed for fewer than 55,000, about 4.5%. Federal alone drove six times that number. Economic conditions were behind another 253,000. Company closings eliminated 191,000 more. AI didn't crack the top five. Researchers have found that when , it's far more often been as a tool, not a replacement. Anthropic's Economic Index for January, which analyzed millions of real conversations with its Claude chatbot, shows that most work-related AI use involves humans using AI for specific tasks, not automation. In addition, the index shows that the success rate for AI-assisted tasks drops sharply on complex work, suggesting the technology still needs human oversight for the work that matters most. So why are there so many mentions of AI around recent job losses? One answer may be what some analysts have been calling "AI-washing." Firms may now be looking to distract from strategic missteps by rebranding layoffs as an AI pivot. "We suspect some firms are trying to dress up layoffs as a good news story rather than bad news," an Oxford Economics report argued last month. AI could still be reshaping the job market. The question is the timeline. The Yale Budget Lab argues that technologies like computers and the internet took decades, not months, to fully change labor markets. So far, artificial intelligence is fitting much the same pattern -- no matter how often AI shows up in the layoff announcements.

AI Killed Software, Now Jobs: January Sees Most Cuts Since 2009 - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Dow (NYSE:DOW)

AI Killed Software, Now It's Killing Jobs: January Sees Most Cuts Since 2009 While Wall Street remains fixated on the selloff in software stocks -- sparked by fears that artificial intelligence is commoditizing complex code and reducing the need for outsourced SaaS -- another warning sign is flashing in the labor market. U.S. employers slashed over 100,000 jobs in January -- the worst start to a year since 2009. According to a report released Thursday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 108,435 job cuts were announced last month, marking a 205% increase from December and a 118% increase from January 2025. The only steeper January came during the depths of the Great Recession, when 241,749 cuts were reported in 2009. The current wave suggests companies ended 2025 with worsening expectations for the economic outlook in 2026. "It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026," said Andy Challenger, the firm's chief revenue officer. While layoffs ballooned, hiring plans collapsed to just 5,306 positions, the lowest January level ever recorded by Challenger. The figure is down 13% from a year ago and 49% from December's total. AI Isn't Just Disrupting Code - It's Taking Jobs In January alone, 7,624 job cuts were directly attributed to AI, representing 7% of all layoffs. Since the metric began in 2023, AI has been cited in nearly 80,000 job cuts. "It's difficult to say how big an impact AI is having on layoffs specifically," said Challenger. "The market appears to be rewarding companies that mention it." Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) triggered 4,701 layoffs in January, the worst month for chemicals since 2016, explicitly citing AI-driven automation in its operations. In tech, Amazon also led with 16,000 job reductions as it reorganized its management layers. That made up the bulk of the 22,291 technology job cuts recorded in the month. "CEO Andy Jassy, like many CEOs recently, has said AI will cost jobs in the coming years, but this cut appears to be due more to over hiring and reducing layers than to the new technology," said Challenger. Healthcare and health product firms announced 17,107 job cuts in January -- the most since April 2020. Hospital systems are under pressure from rising labor costs, inflation and lower Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. This forces not only layoffs but also pay and benefit cuts. Companies Brace For A Leaner 2026 AI continues to emerge as a supporting driver of job reductions, but broader macro issues are forcing corporate retrenchment. Beyond AI, companies most frequently cited contract losses (30,784 cuts), market and economic conditions (28,392) and restructuring efforts (20,044) as reasons for workforce reductions. Store and department closures accounted for another 12,738 layoffs. The surge in layoffs and the collapse in hiring plans suggest corporate America is shifting into defense mode. Employers are entering 2026 with caution, trimming costs, flattening teams and bracing for slower growth. As AI, restructuring and economic uncertainty converge, the labor market is signaling that the next phase may be about resilience -- not expansion. Image: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs