The chemical giant Dow, which announced sweeping layoffs Thursday, is one of the largest employers in the region, with facilities in Houston, Freeport, Bayport, Deer Park, La Porte and Texas City.

As part of a cost-saving program, the chemicals giant will lean on artificial intelligence to increase productivity.

"The goal of Transform to Outperform is to achieve significant growth and productivity gains that elevate Dow's competitive position," said Karen S. Carter, Dow's chief operating officer. "We are building on the momentum of our current self-help measures – transforming Dow into a company that is more resilient,

Major equities indexes fell Thursday, pulled lower by shares of Microsoft and software stocks, as investors mulled a flurry of corporate earnings reports.

Houston-area employees could be among thousands impacted after Dow Inc. announced plans to cut 4,500 jobs as part of its new "Transform to Outperform" initiative.

Q4 2025 Management View Chairman & CEO James Fitterling highlighted that "Team Dow continued to execute with discipline during a year marked by persistent macroeconomic challenges and trade and policy volatility as well as anticompetitive behaviors by certain industry players.