Empresas y finanzas

Dow Chemical to close 4 plants in cost-saving move



    (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co said on Monday it is closing four plants and laying off 900 workers in Europe and North America, part of a plan to slash annual costs by $250 million amid the global economic downturn.

    Dow will record $350 million in one-time charges for the closures.

    Dow said it will close Styrofoam plants in Illinois, Hungary and Portugal, as well as a Brazilian plant that produces toluene diisocyanate, a chemical needed to make polyurethane.

    About $110 million will go to laid-off workers, Dow spokeswoman Rebecca Bentley said. The company has roughly 52,000 workers around the world.

    (Reporting By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)