secwatch.observer — SEC 8-K summary
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Issuer:     WESTLAKE CORP (WLK)
CIK:        0001262823
Form:       8-K
Filed at:   2026-09-29T10:06:28+00:00
Accession:  0001262823-26-000067
Event type: other_material
Sentiment:  negative
Materiality: 0.68
Item codes: 2.05, 7.01, 9.01
LLM model:  deepseek-v4.1-flash:cloud@v2

Westlake to close Cologne PVC plant (165k t/yr); ~$205M pre-tax charges, Q3 2026 results below Q2
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- Plan approved Sept 24, 2026 to cease PVC production at Cologne, Germany site (~165,000 metric tons/year capacity); operations end Q1 2027, cutting ~120 employees.
- Total pre-tax charges ~$205M: $105M non-cash ($60M accelerated depreciation, $45M asset write-offs) plus $100M cash ($20M severance, $80M contract termination/decommissioning).
- ~$110M of charges expected in 2026, remainder in 2027; cash outflows spread over several years; consultations with local works councils began Sept 29, 2026.
- Customers to be served from remaining lower-cost German PVC sites, including recently acquired Wilhelmshaven; CEO Jean-Marc Gilson cited weak demand, high energy costs and Asian import pressure.
- Q3 2026 PVC and polyethylene North American prices fell vs Q2; Housing & Infrastructure hit by higher diesel-driven freight costs and lower volumes; Q3 results seen sequentially below Q2.

Source:
  EDGAR index:    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1262823/000126282326000067/0001262823-26-000067-index.htm
  Primary doc:    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1262823/000126282326000067/wlk-20260924.htm
  HTML page:      https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001262823-26-000067

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