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RESTRUCTURING AND ASSET RELATED CHARGES - NET (Notes)
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]  
Restructuring and Related Activities Disclosure [Text Block] RESTRUCTURING AND ASSET RELATED CHARGES - NET
Charges for restructuring programs and other asset related charges, which includes other asset impairments, were $617 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 ($147 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019) and $719 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 ($368 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019). These charges were recorded in "Restructuring and asset related charges - net" in the consolidated statements of income.

Restructuring Plans
2020 Restructuring Program
On September 29, 2020, the Board of Directors ("Board") of Dow Inc. approved restructuring actions to achieve the Company's structural cost improvement initiatives in response to the continued economic impact from the coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19") pandemic. The restructuring program is designed to reduce structural costs and enable the Company to further enhance competitiveness while the COVID-19 economic recovery gains traction. This program includes a global workforce cost reduction of approximately 6 percent and actions to rationalize the Company's manufacturing assets, which include asset write-down and write-off charges, related contract termination fees and environmental remediation costs ("2020 Restructuring Program"). These actions are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2021.

As a result of these actions, in the third quarter of 2020 the Company recorded pretax restructuring charges of $575 million, consisting of severance and related benefit costs of $297 million, asset write-downs and write-offs of $197 million and costs associated with exit and disposal activities of $81 million. The impact of these charges is shown as "Restructuring and asset related charges - net" in the consolidated statements of income. The following table summarizes the activities related to the 2020 Restructuring Program:

2020 Restructuring ProgramSeverance and Related Benefit CostsAsset Write-downs and Write-offsCosts Associated with Exit and Disposal ActivitiesTotal
In millions
Packaging & Specialty Plastics$— $11 $— $11 
Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure— 22 — 22 
Performance Materials & Coatings— 117 57 174 
Corporate297 47 24 368 
Total restructuring charges$297 $197 $81 $575 
Charges against the reserve— (197)— (197)
Cash payments(1)— — (1)
Reserve balance at Sep 30, 2020$296 $— $81 $377 

At September 30, 2020, $166 million of the reserve balance was included in "Accrued and other current liabilities" and $211 million was included in "Other noncurrent obligations" in the consolidated balance sheets.
Severance and Related Benefit Costs
Severance benefits are provided to employees primarily under Dow's ongoing benefit arrangements and are accrued against the Corporate segment once management commits to a plan of termination. The 2020 Restructuring Program included a charge for severance and related benefit costs of $297 million for a global workforce cost reduction of approximately 6 percent, with separations occurring primarily through the end of 2021, and impacting Corporate. At September 30, 2020, $1 million in severance payments had been made.

Asset Write-downs and Write-offs
The restructuring charge related to the write-down and write-off of assets in the third quarter of 2020 totaled $197 million. Details regarding the asset write-downs and write-offs are as follows:

•Packaging & Specialty Plastics recorded a charge of $11 million to rationalize its production capacity by shutting down a small-scale production unit. The production unit will be shut down by the end of the third quarter of 2022.
•Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure recorded a charge of $22 million to rationalize its asset footprint by shutting down certain amines and solvents facilities in the United States and Europe as well as select, small-scale downstream polyurethanes manufacturing facilities. The facilities will be shut down by the end of 2021.
•Performance Materials & Coatings recorded a charge of $117 million to shut down manufacturing assets, primarily related to small-scale coatings reactors, and will also rationalize its upstream asset footprint in Europe and the U.S. & Canada by adjusting the supply of siloxane and silicon metal to balance to regional needs. The impacted facilities will be shut down by the end of 2021.
•Corporate recorded a charge of $47 million related to the write-down of leased, non-manufacturing facilities and the write-down of miscellaneous assets.

Costs Associated with Exit and Disposal Activities
The 2020 Restructuring Program included a charge of $81 million for costs associated with exit and disposal activities, which included $25 million for contract termination fees related to the asset actions listed above, impacting Performance Materials & Coatings ($5 million) and Corporate ($20 million), as well as $56 million for environmental remediation, impacting Performance Materials & Coatings ($52 million) and Corporate ($4 million).
DowDuPont Cost Synergy Program
In September and November 2017, DowDuPont approved post-merger restructuring actions under the DowDuPont Cost Synergy Program (the "Synergy Program") which was designed to integrate and optimize the organization following the Merger and in preparation for the business separations. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company recorded pretax restructuring charges of $90 million for severance and related benefit costs. In the third quarter of 2020, the Company reduced the Synergy Program reserve for severance and related benefit costs by $4 million. The impact of this adjustment is shown in "Restructuring and asset related charges - net" in the consolidated statements of income and reflected in Corporate. The Company expects cash expenditures related to the Synergy Program to be substantially complete by the end of 2020. The following table summarizes the activities related to the Synergy Program, which are reflected on a continuing operations basis:

DowDuPont Synergy ProgramSeverance and Related Benefit CostsAsset Write-downs and Write-offsCosts Associated with Exit and Disposal ActivitiesTotal
In millions
Reserve balance at Dec 31, 2018$210 $— $7 $217 
 Packaging & Specialty Plastics $— $— $1 $1 
 Corporate52 76 15 143 
Total restructuring charges$52 $76 $16 $144 
Charges against the reserve— (76)— (76)
Cash payments(79)— (4)(83)
Reserve balance at Mar 31, 2019$183 $— $19 $202 
 Performance Materials & Coatings$— $22 $— $22 
 Corporate25 7 5 37 
Total restructuring charges$25 $29 $5 $59 
Charges against the reserve— (29)— (29)
Cash payments(71)— (2)(73)
Reserve balance at Jun 30, 2019$137 $— $22 $159 
 Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure$— $— $5 $5 
 Performance Materials & Coatings— 1 — 1 
 Corporate46 4 — 50 
Total restructuring charges$46 $5 $5 $56 
Charges against the reserve— (5)— (5)
Cash payments(77)— (6)(83)
Reserve balance at Sep 30, 2019$106 $— $21 $127 
Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure$— $2 $— $2 
Performance Materials & Coatings— 5 — 5 
Corporate— 26 — 26 
Total restructuring charges$— $33 $— $33 
Charges against the reserve— (33)— (33)
Cash payments(52)— (4)(56)
Reserve balance at Dec 31, 2019$54 $— $17 $71 
Corporate$90 $— $— $90 
Total restructuring charges$90 $— $— $90 
Cash payments(42)— (1)(43)
Reserve balance at Mar 31, 2020$102 $— $16 $118 
Cash payments(21)— (1)(22)
Reserve balance at Jun 30, 2020$81 $— $15 $96 
Adjustment to the reserve(4)— — (4)
Cash payments(44)— — (44)
Reserve balance at Sep 30, 2020$33 $— $15 $48 

At September 30, 2020, $35 million of the reserve balance was included in "Accrued and other current liabilities" ($52 million at December 31, 2019) and $13 million was included in "Other noncurrent obligations" ($19 million at December 31, 2019) in the consolidated balance sheets.
The Company recorded pretax restructuring charges of $961 million inception-to-date under the Synergy Program on a continuing operations basis, consisting of severance and related benefit costs of $653 million, asset write-downs and write-offs of $263 million and costs associated with exit and disposal activities of $45 million.

The Company expects to incur additional costs in the future related to its restructuring activities. Future costs are expected to include demolition costs related to closed facilities and restructuring plan implementation costs; these costs will be recognized as incurred. The Company also expects to incur additional employee-related costs, including involuntary termination benefits, related to its other optimization activities. These costs cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

Asset Related Charges
The Company recognized pretax impairment charges of $46 million and $58 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. Pretax impairment charges for the three months ended September 30, 2020 included a $15 million charge for the write-down of a non-manufacturing asset and the write-off of a capital project (related to Performance Materials & Coatings), a $24 million charge associated with the write-down of certain corporate leased equipment (related to Corporate) and additional pretax impairment charges of $7 million related to capital additions made to a bio-ethanol manufacturing facility in Santa Vitoria, Minas Gerais, Brazil, which was impaired in 2017 ($19 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, related to Packaging & Specialty Plastics). On September 29, 2020, the Company divested the bio-ethanol manufacturing facility. Pretax impairment charges for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 primarily related to the bio-ethanol manufacturing facility were $16 million and $34 million, respectively (related to Packaging & Specialty Plastics and Performance Materials & Coatings). The impairment charges were included in “Restructuring and asset related charges - net” in the consolidated statements of income.

In addition, in the third quarter of 2019 the Company recognized a pretax impairment charge of $75 million related to the then-planned divestiture of its acetone derivatives business, which closed on November 1, 2019. The charge was included in "Restructuring and asset related charges - net" in the consolidated statements of income and related to Packaging & Specialty Plastics ($24 million) and Corporate ($51 million). See Note 20 for additional information on asset related charges.