It’s official. Dow Chemical and DuPont Co. closed their historic merger at the end trading on Thursday. As of Friday morning, shares of the newly combined DowDuPont will trade under the stock ticker DWDP.
The $130 billion merger is just the start of a major transition for both of the massive companies. Within 18 months, DowDuPont will spin off into three separate companies: agriculture, specialty products (both headquartered in Delaware) and material science (headquartered in Michigan).
No major day-to-day changes are expected immediately following the deal’s close. But according to a report in Philly.com, DowDuPont plans to cut another $3 billion in jobs, plants and purchasing before the spin offs take shape.
DuPont alone already set out to cut 10 percent of its global workforce after the deal was announced in December 2015. Dow also announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs as it prepared for the merger.
Despite potential cuts in the short term, some analysts predict that in the long-run, the spin offs could create a net gain for jobs if they generate the kind of growth the companies are predicting.
Some officials in Delaware and Michigan are optimistic that in the long-run the deal could be a boon for their respective states.
A university economist recently told DelawareOnline that if the Chemours deal is any indication of what’s to come, Delaware will benefit from the DowDuPont spinoffs.
Although the Chemours unit had a rocky start, it has had four quarters of double digit growth.