The report

EU chemicals, the alarm: 20,000 jobs lost and another 89,000 at risk

In Italy, Federchimica says, production has been declining for four consecutive years and is 13% below 2021 levels. President Buzzella: 'Put in place, in the immediate future, incisive actions in favour of competitiveness'

by Cristina Casadei

31 January 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

As of 2022, the European chemical industry has been impacted by 20,000 fewer jobs, while a further 89,000 are at risk in related industries, with plant closures already announced resulting in the loss of 37 million tonnes of production, or 9 per cent of production capacity.

In the old continent, capacity loss related to closures has increased sixfold, according to the report European Chemical closures & investments radar 2022-2025, produced by Cefic, (European chemical industry council), the association that brings together the industry's business representatives from the different EU countries, including the Italian Federchimica.

A change of course is needed

For Federation President Francesco Buzzella, 'a change of course to protect the chemical industry is indispensable. Saving chemistry in Europe means saving the entire manufacturing sector. The reduction in investments and the announcements of closure risks are a wake-up call that the institutions must seize in order to implement, in the immediate future, incisive actions in favour of competitiveness, protection of production capacity, and oriented towards a reversal of the negative trend in investments'.

Jobs at risk in the supply chain

The report analyses closures, downsizing and capacity investments in the EU27, the UK, Switzerland and Norway from 2022 to 2025 and highlights two very worrying figures, namely the slowdown in investment, with all that this entails for the competitiveness and long-term profitability of the industry, and the employment impact.

On the first front, there is a reduction in investments in production capacity in Europe, down from 2.7 million tonnes in 2022 to only 0.3 million so far in 2025. On the second front, on the other hand, the announced closures have an impact of close to 110,000 jobs, adding together direct jobs and those in related industries.

This scenario is worrying not only because the European chemical industry is facing a structural contraction in production capacity, as the balance between investments and announced closures means a loss of more than 30 million tonnes, but also because of the impact on manufacturing as a whole, given that chemicals is the first link in most production chains. Its downsizing is likely to cause a domino effect in view of the interconnections between European plants in terms of supply and utilisation.

The Italian chemical slowdown

The Italian situation is fully consistent with the European scenario: in our country, chemical production has been declining for four consecutive years and is 13% lower than in 2021, i.e. before the energy crisis. The products of chemistry, however, are indispensable elements that enter into the composition of 95% of the manufactured goods used daily, from mobility to health and well-being, from housing to food, from clothing to agriculture. Moreover, if we look at the numbers, chemistry is the fifth-largest industry in Italy and the third-largest producer in Europe, with a turnover reaching EUR 65 billion in 2024 and more than 2,800 companies, 70% of which are SMEs, creating added value that has important repercussions on the entire economy: EUR 100 of added value in chemistry activates a further EUR 232 along all the supply chains.

The necessary measures

'Plant closures and the risk of plant closures, combined with a lack of investment, inevitably lead to a downturn in the European chemical industry. This trend,' concludes Buzzella, 'highlights a growing uncertainty for the industry. The main critical factor is related to high energy costs, coupled with shrinking demand and regulatory pressures that continue to undermine Europe's ability to maintain a competitive and resilient industrial base, creating the preconditions for future deindustrialisation. Reducing the competitiveness gaps - starting with energy costs, also by reviewing the ETS system - with concrete and timely actions is the call of the chemical industry to preserve a key sector for the economy, fundamental for all value chains, with positive impacts on society, the environment, growth and development'.