Overview

• The federal government has abolished the gas-storage levy, reduced electricity tax and trimmed grid fees to ease industrial power costs.
• Consultations between Dow Chemical and its works councils continue as the company finalizes timelines and social plans for closures in Schkopau and Böhlen affecting about 550 jobs by 2027.
• UPM’s €1 billion biorefinery in Leuna is under construction with first wood-based chemical outputs expected by year-end.
• Saxony-Anhalt’s economy shrank by 0.9 percent last year and faces demographic headwinds with over 28 percent of residents aged over 60.
• IG Metall and regional leaders warn that without sustained state support, high energy and labor expenses will erode Germany’s chemical sector competitiveness and strategic autonomy.