Kickstart: Dow Jones is dropping Dow

Dow Inc. is leaving Dow Jones.

S&P Dow Jones Indices will replace the Midland, Mich.-based chemical and plastics maker on the Dow Jones Industrial Average list with Sherwin-Williams Co. prior to the start of trading on Nov. 8. On the same day it will also replace Intel Corp. in the DJIA listing with Nvidia Corp. Both companies make computer chips, but Nvidia is more high profile currently for its use in artificial intelligence.

The change from Dow to Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams is intended to "ensure a more representative exposure" to the chemicals and materials industry in the DJIA, which is made up of 30 public companies intended to indicate the overall market trends.

Following a merger with DuPont Co., which then led to a division of those holdings into three separate companies in 2019 — DuPont, Corteva and Dow Inc. — Dow currently has a market value of about $34 billion. Sherwin-Williams' value is about $90 billion. Dow Inc. is currently the smallest company within the DJIA. It is "not uncommon" for S&P Dow Jones Indices to remove companies that fail to lift the DJIA, The Motley Fool notes on its website, adding that Dow Inc. has lost 2 percent of its value while Sherwin-Williams skyrocketed 150 percent.

S&P Dow Jones has changed the companies in its index 52 times since it began in 1896. (For the record, Herbert H. Dow founded the company that is now Dow Inc. Charles Dow, no relation, was a co-founder of the Dow Jones index.)

Syensco, the materials business that spun off from Solvay at the end of 2023, is warning of "plans to adapt its organization to better meet the evolving needs of its customers and focus on projects that will accelerate growth."

That's the kind of PR phrasing that usually indicates job reductions and closures ahead, and this Nov. 5 announcement seems to be no different. The Brussels-based company says that its "consultation processes" will include a proposed reduction of 300-350 positions, primarily in France, the U.S., Belgium and Italy.

The changes are due to continuing macroeconomic conditions and "demand uncertainty" in key markets, officials said.

But at the same time, the company noted that it will be adding more IT and other technology jobs to support its structure as Syensco prepares to cut its final support systems from Solvay.

Samsonite International SA plans to pack fewer greenhouse gases into its future business operations, in part by increasing the amount of recycled plastics it uses.

The luggage maker and owner of the Samsonite, Tumi and American Tourister brands said in a Nov. 1 update of its sustainability goals that it wants to cut its Scope 3 GHG output by 52 percent by 2030, which will mean reducing the amount of virgin material in products it purchases from suppliers. That means more recycled plastics, aluminum and other materials.

In 2023, products made using recycled materials accounted for 34 percent of Samsonite's sales. That's up from about 23 percent in 2022. Samsonite has been using recycled plastics since at least 2019.