Shares in Dow (DOW) fell over 2% early Thursday after the Michigan-based chemical and plastic manufacturer announced plans to cut 4,500 jobs as its fourth-quarter earnings showed weaker sales and larger losses.
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During the quarter, the company’s revenue came in at $9.46 billion with a loss per share of $2.15. Sales matched Wall Street’s estimate, but losses were worse compared to the analyst consensus of a loss of 46 cents per share.
Net loss during the quarter was $1.5 billion compared with a $35 million loss in the year-ago quarter.
Dow said its sales volume fell 2% from a year earlier, driven largely by weaker demand in its packaging and specialty plastics business, where sales of olefins — chemicals used to make ethylene for bottles and bags, and propylene for car parts — declined in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. The company last year temporarily suspended one of its steam crackers in the region that produces these chemicals.