Covestro to Cut 260 Jobs at Antwerp Port Plant
German chemicals group Covestro announced on 15 October 2026 that it intends to eliminate 309 jobs at its Antwerp port site — out of a total workforce of 976 — resulting in 260 collective redundancies, or roughly a quarter of the plant’s staff. The company blamed global overcapacity in polycarbonate production and what it described as a structural crisis in the European chemical sector.
According to VRT NWS, the workforce was informed during a special works council meeting on the morning of the announcement. “The employees react surprised and devastated; it concerns 25 percent of them,” said Patrik Collier, a union representative with the Christian trade union ACV.
What Is Being Cut
Collier said management plans to close the BPA (bisphenol A) plant entirely and shut down five of the six production lines at the Makrolon plant, leaving only the aniline and polyether plants in operation. The Makrolon plant produces polycarbonate plastic pellets used in products ranging from car headlights to medical applications. BPA is an essential base material for making polycarbonate.
The measures are expected to be implemented gradually during 2027. Made in Antwerpen reported that the company emphasised the number of outright dismissals could be limited, for instance by filling internal vacancies. The remaining plants — aniline and polyether — form part of the MDI chain used for foams in mattresses, seats and cars.
Why Covestro Says It Is Acting
The company cited global overcapacity in polycarbonate, with new production capacity added in Asia depressing prices. The types of polycarbonate made in Antwerp are no longer profitable, and Covestro said it wants to focus in Europe only on profitable polycarbonate grades.
“For Covestro it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell materials produced in Europe competitively and profitably, especially in the segment of cheaper standard polycarbonates,” said Susanne Buchholz, managing director at Covestro. “Not taking action today would undermine the long-term economic viability of our Antwerp site.”
According to PZC, Buchholz noted that global production capacity for standard polycarbonates has increased by more than 30 percent since 2020, driven largely by capacity expansions in Asia. Sector utilisation rates now hover around 65 percent, down from more than 80 percent between 2019 and 2021, she said.
The company announced it would continue investment in a new aniline plant in Antwerp — a commitment it framed as strengthening the site’s long-term competitiveness.
Union Anger Over Procedure
The announcement immediately drew fire from unions, who accused management of procedural irregularities under Belgium’s so-called Wet Renault, the law governing collective redundancies.
“Under the Wet Renault, a collective dismissal of this scale must be announced via a special works council, but while that council was still in session, management had already sent an email to all staff,” said Anthonie De Lausnay, a delegate with the socialist ABVV union, as reported by PZC. “That goes against all the rules, and that first meeting was therefore ended early. On Monday we will talk with management again, but we will sell our skin dearly.”
Collier echoed the concern, saying employee representatives received the news only partially and that when they returned to the room, management was absent. He questioned whether the declaration of intent was legally in order. For now, he said, it is too early for industrial action: “There is no point staging an action if you don’t know what the result should be.”
A Blow to Europe’s Largest Chemical Cluster
The restructuring is the latest setback for Antwerp’s chemical cluster, the largest in Europe. The sector has been under mounting pressure since the 2022 energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when sharply rising energy prices made European production uncompetitive against cheaper US and Chinese output.
VRT NWS has noted that more than 1,000 jobs were lost in the sector in the year to early 2025. Of the 100,000 chemical jobs in Belgium, 35,000 are located in Antwerp province, and the sector is described as a principal supplier — the lifeline — for other industries, with 95 percent of the products people use linked to chemistry.
The Covestro announcement follows a wave of similar moves: BASF Antwerp’s savings plan announced in November 2024, and Evonik’s September 2026 decision to cut 22 jobs in the Antwerp port as part of a global restructuring. In June 2023, Ineos Phenol reorganised, and rubber producer Arlanxeo closed its Zwijndrecht site.
Johan Klaps, Antwerp alderman for the port and chairman of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, voiced concern while placing the decision in a broader context. “This news hits the 260 employees and their families hard,” he said. “The European chemical sector is under heavy pressure from high costs and international competition, but Covestro also confirms its continued commitment to Antwerp.”
What to Watch
Unions and management are due to meet again on Monday, with the Wet Renault information and consultation phase now formally under way. Whether the procedure’s contested start complicates the process — and whether internal vacancies can meaningfully reduce the number of forced dismissals — will be key questions in the weeks ahead.
The broader test, however, is whether Antwerp’s chemical cluster can arrest a years-long slide. As European producers grapple with costly energy and fierce global competition, the fate of 260 families on the Scheldelaan has become a measure of the continent’s industrial durability.