Chemical products firms Dow Chemical (click ticker for report: ) and DuPont (click ticker for report: ) announced significant job cuts after both reported terrible third-quarter results this week. Dow plans to cut roughly 2,400 positions, or about 5% of its workforce, and shut down about 20 manufacturing plants, while DuPont’s restructuring will eliminate 1,500 jobs globally in the next 12 to 18 months. The headline performance of both firms’ quarterly reports was appalling. Dow’s net profit tumbled 35% as pricing declines overwhelmed a modest increase in volume, while DuPont’s net income tumbled to just $10 million from $452 million in the prior-year period. Though DuPont boasts a higher Valuentum Dividend Cushion score than that of Dow Chemical, we’re not anxious to establish a new position in either of these high-yielders in our Dividend Growth portfolio at this time.
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