Covestro announced plans to cut 309 of 976 positions at its Antwerp site, with 260 employees potentially facing dismissal and the rest reduced through retirement or voluntary departure. The move followed its decision to consolidate polycarbonate production and stop BPA output.
The announcement came after BASF said it would cut 600 jobs at the Antwerp port over three years, Evonik reduced staff by more than 100, Envalior announced closure of its Kallo plant by year-end affecting about 200 jobs, Arlanxeo's Zwijndrecht closure cost 278 jobs, and Ineos Phenol's Doel plant was idled four years ago.
Wouter Van Bockhaven, a professor at Antwerp Management School who studies the Antwerp chemical cluster, said the sector is in "a perfect storm." He noted energy in the US is about 3.5 times cheaper and that Europe is being flooded with inexpensive Chinese material.
Van Bockhaven said an estimated 39 million metric tons of chemical production capacity is expected to disappear across Europe. "The big problem is: what disappears does not come back. This is structural," he said.
He noted the sector accounts for more than 30% of value added in Flanders and 30% of exports, with about 10% of capacity lost since 2022 and 65,000 jobs. He called for a two-track policy of protecting existing assets while pursuing niches such as specialty chemicals and critical materials.
