Michigan’s economic news received yet another blow with the announcement of Dow Chemical Co. layoffs and major retailers shuttering stores across the state.

Dow is a prominent employer in the state. Officials on Thursday announced plans to reduce the company’s global workforce by about 1,500, or roughly 4%, but the local impact is unknown, MLive reports.

The workforce reductions and other actions are intended to save the company $1 billion, according to a Dow news release. Dow employs approximately 5,200 in Michigan and about 36,000 people globally.

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

“Employees impacted by these measures will be notified as soon as practicable, with the intention to notify all impacted employees by end of the end of April or per local regulations,” Dow spokesperson Sarah Young said in an email to MLive/The Saginaw News.

Officials announced the company’s fourth-quarter earnings alongside the layoff news. Net sales were $10.4 billion, down 2% year-over-year, reflecting declines in packaging and specialty plastics, according to the release.

Dow reported sales of nearly $43 billion in 2024, down from $44.6 billion in 2023.

Returns to shareholders totaled $492 million of dividends in the fourth quarter. Still, Jim Fitterling, Dow chairman and CEO, said in a statement that “we must continue to take proactive actions to reduce costs while we navigate through this ongoing slower-than-expected macroeconomic recovery.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

According to a new review from the personal finance site WalletHub, the Wolverine State ranked No. 48, ahead of only Kentucky, Nevada and South Carolina. Nationally, South Dakota, Connecticut, and New Hampshire are ranked as the states with the best unemployment rate changes.

Meanwhile, in the retail sector, Macy’s Inc. plans to close five department stores in Michigan as part of 66 stores nationwide that are slated to close this year, Crain’s Detroit reports.

More than 200 employees will lose their jobs when three Macy’s stores in metro Detroit close early this spring. The layoffs will occur between March 18 and March 31, according to two WARN notices filed with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

The Michigan stores on the list include the Lakeside Mall men’s and women’s stores, the Oakland Mall location, Genesee Valley Center in Flint and Grand Traverse Mall near Traverse City.

In all, 117 employees who work at the Lakeside Mall stores in Sterling Heights will be laid off, and 92 jobs will be cut as part of the closing of the store at Oakland Mall in Troy.

On Jan. 9, the New York City-based company announced that it would close 66 stores nationwide this year and launched going-out-of-business sales that it said would run eight to 12 weeks.

The closures announced Jan. 9 are among 150 stores the chain plans to close in the next three years. After that plan, Macy’s will have about 350 stores remaining.

Whether it’s a sign of the economy or sluggish sales over the holidays, major retailers nationwide have filed for bankruptcy or announced store closures in recent months.

Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024 and closed 300 stores across the country, including 11 in Michigan. The discount retailer that sells furniture and home goods struck a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, LLC in late December to save the brand and some stores, MLive reports.

However, Michigan stores continue to close across the state, including locations in West Michigan, but it remains unclear which stores will be spared, if any. The company that purchased Big Lots recently put up for sale the leases of hundreds of locations, including leases for 16 stores in Michigan.