Will Rohm and Haas In Louisville, KY still be closing down even though Dow has now acquired Rohm and Haas?

Question

Will Rohm and Haas In Louisville, KY still be closing down even though Dow has now acquired Rohm and Haas?

Answer 1

It would be highly unlikely for Dow to keep Louisville's Rohm and Haas plant open. State and local officials could always attempt to offer incentives for Dow to consolidate some operations at Louisville's Campground Road site, but since the plant dates to World War II it is unlikely that the incentives would be enough for Dow to keep the plant in operation.

It was reported that Rohm and Haas is proceeding with it's restructuring to cut 220 jobs in Louisville by mid-2009, that the two companies will continue to operate separately until the deal closes, and that Dow doesn't expect for the deal to be completed before early 2009. Since this would leave the Louisville plant with less than half of its previous workforce once the deal is completed, Dow would have little incentive to keep the Louisville plant open. Once Dow acquires Rohm and Haas, they could propose further consolidations.