St. Charles Operations announced today that approximately 35 positions have been eliminated at the site. The job eliminations, which have impacted employees working in various areas of the facility, are part of Dow’s global reorganization process. The jobs represent approximately 3 percent of the site’s workforce, which totals more than 1,100 employees.

“This has been a very difficult process,” said Site Leader Nawzer Parakh. “A driving force behind these decisions was a consolidation and a reduction of duplicate or redundant roles. There are a lot of talented and committed individuals who work at our site. Our focus has been to conduct this process in a fair and respectful manner.”

After poor financial performances in 2001 and 2002, primarily due to conditions such as higher and volatile energy prices, Dow implemented an action plan to restore the company’s fiscal fitness. Among other things, the plan focused on discretionary spending and closure of non-competitive or under-utilized plants.

The focus continued in 2004 with Dow making significant structural changes. This included a global reorganization – designed to create clearer accountability, streamline decision making and reduce structural costs.

“The chemical industry continues to wrestle with tough economic conditions. Companies are struggling to remain competitive in the face of rising costs and tough competition, and Dow is no exception,” Parakh adds. “This reorganization is a difficult but necessary part of our site’s efforts to maintain its future viability.”

Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $33 billion, Dow serves customers in more than 180 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its approximately 46,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. St. Charles Operations is owned by Union Carbide Corporation, which is a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.