Global Chemicals & Materials News (November 24–November 30, 2025)

Global

Wacker Chemie — Global Workforce Reduction Amid European Chemical Downturn

Date: November 27, 2025

Event: Wacker Chemie announced a workforce reduction of over 1,500 employees by 2027, citing high energy costs, weak demand across Europe, and structural competitiveness challenges in the region.

Impact Pathway:Strengthens Wacker’s cost base in a depressed European chemical environment; signals deeper structural contraction in Germany’s chemical industry; may reduce output across silicone, polymer, and specialty chemical lines.

Financials:Savings target undisclosed; restructuring expected to improve EBITDA margins from 2026 onward, particularly in energy-intensive segments.

Operations:Phased layoffs across Germany and selected EU sites; optimization of energy usage and consolidation of certain production units.

Beneficiaries:Non-EU competitors with lower energy and compliance costs (China, Middle East); downstream customers may face more stable pricing due to lower oversupply risk.

Pressured:German chemical SMEs in Wacker’s value chain; energy-intensive producers; weak-demand segments (silicones, polymer emulsions).

Watchpoints: Execution of workforce cuts; potential EU industrial policy responses; global silicone and polymer supply-demand rebalancing.

Asia-Pacific

Lotte Chemical & HD Hyundai Chemical — Joint Petrochemical Restructuring Plan Submitted to Korean Government

Date: November 26, 2025

Event: Lotte Chemical and HD Hyundai Chemical submitted a formal restructuring plan to South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Lotte’s Daesan operations will be carved out and merged into HD Hyundai Chemical to address sector-wide overcapacity.

Impact Pathway:Reduces fragmentation in Korea’s petrochemical sector; increases operational efficiency across naphtha cracking and C2/C3 chains; sets precedent for additional government-guided consolidation.

Financials:Value of integration not disclosed; expected long-term CAPEX reductions and improved utilization rates; part of Korea’s broader plan to cut 25% of national petrochemical overcapacity.

Operations:Asset and workforce transfer underway; production optimization between Daesan and Hyundai sites; alignment of ethylene/propylene output strategy with government-mandated rationalization.

Beneficiaries:Regional producers facing reduced oversupply pressure; downstream polyolefin and derivative producers from stabilized feedstock pricing.

Pressured:Smaller Korean petrochemical players lacking scale; oversupplied Asian ethylene/propylene markets in the short term.

Watchpoints: Government review process; pace of capacity rationalization; ripple effects on APAC olefin/polymer supply chains.

Global / Sustainability

PFAS Phase-Out Accelerates — Major Chemical Producers Exit “Forever Chemicals”

Date: November 25, 2025

Event: Multiple global chemical companies announced accelerated phase-out timelines for PFAS production following regulatory pressure, litigation exposure, and public health concerns in North America and Europe.

Impact Pathway:Reshapes the fluorochemicals market; pushes rapid development of PFAS-free surfactants, coatings, and barrier materials; increases costs for downstream sectors transitioning to compliant alternatives.

Financials: PFAS-related liabilities continue rising; companies reallocate R&D to fluorine-free chemistries; long-term margin pressure expected for legacy PFAS portfolios.

Operations:Manufacturing lines to be shut down or repurposed; qualification cycles begin for PFAS-alternative materials across electronics, coatings, water treatment, and specialty polymers.

Beneficiaries:Producers of PFAS-free performance chemicals; membrane materials makers; sustainability-focused brands and OEMs.

Pressured:Industries deeply dependent on PFAS purity/function (semicon, medical devices, filtration).

Watchpoints: EU REACH final restriction text; U.S. EPA litigation pathways; market adoption of non-PFAS replacements.

North America / Circular Materials

ExxonMobil — Chemical Recycling Program Faces Regulatory and Industry Scrutiny

Date: November 24, 2025

Event: ExxonMobil defended its large-scale “chemical recycling” program after environmental groups and California prosecutors challenged whether its output is genuinely recycled chemicals or primarily fuels.

Impact Pathway:Increases regulatory attention on pyrolysis/oil-cracking recycling routes; may influence investment into depolymerization and mechanical-chemical hybrid recycling.

Financials:Exxon reports processing 120 million pounds of plastic waste to date; legal challenges could raise compliance and disclosure costs.

Operations:Chemical recycling lines continue running in Texas and other U.S. sites; potential shift toward greater transparency in mass-balance certification.

Beneficiaries:Alternative recycling technologies (solvolysis, enzymatic recycling); verified circular polymer producers.

Pressured: Pyrolysis-based recycling operators facing “greenwashing” accusations; brands relying on uncertified recycled content claims.

Watchpoints: Outcome of California investigations; future U.S. federal guidance on chemical recycling; brand adoption of certified circular feedstocks.