every 3-5 year restructuring with unclear outcome. hire and fire mentality. - Anonymous employee Dow Employee Review

2.0
17 Dec 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I started working for Dow as a trainee after university. It's a great company to grow up in. I learned a lot and had the pleasure of working in 5 different countries. Good job opportunities with increasing responsibility. Great company to learn, best practice and diverse culture.

Cons

Every 3-5 years people are laid off. This happens in an unstructured, random way. At Dow not always the best man or woman is at the right job, it's more who you know. The performance reviews are not taken into consideration and mainly to determine salary levels. If you plan to work for Dow, do not stay longer than 10-12 years. Your CV will be much more worth outside Dow. Use it for learning and then move on. Hardly anyone makes it to normal retirement. The HQ is located in Midland MI, a small white collar town where everyone is linked to Dow Chemical.

Explore other reviews about Dow

5.0
16 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Culture and the technical expertise within the company provide for a working environment where you don't work in silo and everyone is willing to help support you

Cons

Administrative systems can be burdensome to overcome.

2.0
22 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Safety culture, flexibility (although less and less over time). Good health insurance and 401k match

Cons

Dow’s recent years illustrate the challenges of trying to simultaneously satisfy Wall Street’s demands for strong financial performance and aggressive DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) priorities. The company has heavily emphasized inclusion initiatives, including its openly gay CEO publicly sharing that coming out was one of the best days of his life in an internal communication, along with a notable increase in women appointed to senior leadership roles. Hiring practices reportedly require diverse candidate slates—including female candidates—and diverse interview panels before filling positions. These efforts, while well-intentioned, appear to have contributed to a series of questionable strategic decisions. Employees have borne the brunt through repeated rounds of layoffs (including significant cuts announced in recent years), minimal merit increases often in the 2-3% range, stalled promotions, and little turnover at the top levels of leadership. Senior executives seem insulated from the consequences, potentially overlooking how these factors—including their own leadership—may be central to the company’s ongoing struggles.

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