** Shares of chemical company Dow DOW.N rise 2.1% to $41.90 premarket

** Company to reduce headcount by about 1,500 employees globally

** DOW expects $500 mln to $700 mln reduction in direct costs

** Company to record a charge of $250 mln to $325 mln in Q1 2025 for severance and related benefit costs

** Company posts Q4 adj profit of 0 cents per share vs est of 24 cents per share - data compiled by LSEG

** Stock was down 26.3% in 2024

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru)

((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))