Westlake to close multiple North American facilities, incurring $415M expense
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 15 2025
0mins
Source: SeekingAlpha
Facility Closures: Westlake plans to close several chlorovinyl and styrene facilities in North America, resulting in 295 job cuts and approximately $415 million in pre-tax costs in Q4.
Specific Plants Affected: The closures include a polyvinyl chloride plant in Aberdeen, Mississippi, a vinyl chloride monomer plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and a styrene production plant at the same site, among others.
Continued Supply: Despite the closures, Westlake will maintain supply to customers from its seven other chlorovinyl facilities in North America.
Market Context: The company’s actions are part of a broader strategy to navigate challenging market conditions, as indicated in their recent communications.
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Analyst Views on WLK
Wall Street analysts forecast WLK stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for WLK is 82.64 USD with a low forecast of 70.00 USD and a high forecast of 92.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
12 Analyst Rating
7 Buy
5 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 81.880
Low
70.00
Averages
82.64
High
92.00
Current: 81.880
Low
70.00
Averages
82.64
High
92.00
About WLK
Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer and supplier of materials and products that enhance life every day. With operations in Asia, Europe, and North America, it provides building blocks for solutions from housing and construction to packaging and healthcare to automotive and the consumer. Its segments include Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials include Westlake North American Vinyls, Westlake North American Chlor-alkali & Derivatives, Westlake European & Asian Chlorovinyls, Westlake Olefins, Westlake Polyethylene and Westlake Epoxy. The Housing and Infrastructure Products include Westlake Royal Building Products, Westlake Pipe and Fittings, Westlake Global Compounds and Westlake Dimex. Its products are used in diverse consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, automotive products, water treatment, wind turbines, coatings as well as other durable and non-durable goods.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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Westlake Executive Chairman Sells 40,836 Shares for $3 Million
- Insider Transaction: On December 22, Albert Chao, Executive Chairman of Westlake Corporation, sold 40,836 shares for approximately $3 million, reducing his direct holdings by 6.11%, indicating a cautious stance towards the market.
- Option Exercise: The shares sold were sourced from the exercise of 81,673 options, demonstrating Chao's strategy to capitalize on market opportunities while maintaining relatively stable direct ownership in the company.
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