The merger of Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. and Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont Co. will inevitably impact the Michigan economy, though experts don't agree on the extent.

The merger, which will create a new company calledwith a $130 billion market value, allows the two chemical makers to streamline operations and, likely, cut costs across product lines, such as agriculture, plastics and other chemicals.

The stakes are high for Michigan. Dow employs roughly 6,000 people in the state and is the largest employer and dominant economic force in its hometown of Midland.

Dow and DuPont declined to comment directly for this story.

"This transaction is a game-changer for our industry and reflects the culmination of a vision we have had for more than a decade to bring together these two powerful innovation and material science leaders," Dow CEO Andrew Liveris said in a statement.

Dow is synonymous with Midland and is the primary reason that city has avoided the decline of many midsized Michigan industrial towns. The mid-Michigan community of roughly 42,000 people is well educated and more prosperous than the state averages.

More than 94 percent of Midland residents have a high school diploma and more than 42 percent earned a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with the state average of 86 percent and 29 percent, respectively, according to 2014data.

Per capita income is also higher at $30,715, compared to the state average of $28,555.

The presence of Dow, founded by Canadian immigrant Herbert Dow in 1890 to manufacture bleach, has shaped Midland's business community and cultural life.

The influence is clear at the chemical-themed, where theminor league baseball team plays; and the. All were funded by the company.

Herbert Dow also created, the city's 110-acre botanical garden locale.

In a conference call Friday, Liveris and DuPont CEO Ed Breen confirmed that the companies' headquarters will remain as a combined entity. Under the reorganized DowDuPont, Liveris will serve as executive chairman and Breen will become CEO.

But restructuring will occur and that could lead to job losses, said David Jaffe, special situations counsel for his own Birmingham firm,, and former general counsel for

Cost savings will come from eliminating duplicated efforts in research and development, sales, purchasing and advertising, Jaffe said.

"These are categories that are always under consideration in a deal like this," he said. "There doesn't appear to be a ton of direct overlap in the businesses, so consolidation becomes trickier."

Speculation on whether Dow Chemical could eventually abandon Midland remains high, but it's too early to make any assumptions, Jaffe said.

"Dow has a lot of capital expenditures in Michigan, so there definitely could be consolidation of manufacturing facilities and they could, in principle, combine headquarters elsewhere," Jaffe said. "But Dow has always remained strong with its commitment to Midland, and it's not like Wilmington is a storybook place to recruit talent."

Tim Nash, senior vice president of corporate and strategic alliances and professor of economics and business atin Midland, said Dow is the anchor of the bay region, which includes Bay City and Saginaw.

Nash believes the merger will create more jobs and a larger scope for DowDuPont in Midland, despite initial fears.

"If you look at the impact, there's only about $4 billion in overlapping business between the two entities, and I don't think we'll see a lot of losses in Midland," Nash said. "There may be some short-term disruptions, but my bet is that the mid-Michigan region and Dow will be larger and more prosperous for it.

"We'll see some sign changes, and some people in Midland will wear the DuPont oval instead of the Dow diamond, but I see a real opportunity to grow business here because of the combined entities."

Last month, work began on Dow Chemical's new six-story corporate center as part of the company's 150-acre corporate headquarters campus in Midland. It will include space for about 600 employees and contractors and is expected to be fully operational by mid-2017.

In Southeast Michigan, both companies operate automotive units.

employs about 250 in Auburn Hills with revenue of $2.8 billion in 2014. It's unknown how many peopleemploys in Troy; that unit generated revenue of $3.1 billion in 2014.

It is not yet known whether consolidation or job cuts will occur with either company if and when the merger closes, but the companies have said they expect cost savings of $3 billion within 18-24 months of the business combination, and job cuts often accompany big acquisitions.

DuPont reduced its presence in Southeast Michigan in 2012, when it sold its performance coatings business to private equity firmfor $4.9 billion. The unit, headquartered in Mt. Clemens, employed about 11,000 at 35 plants globally. The company, now called, employs about 500 at its Mt. Clemens plant.

The eventual plan is to split the combined DowDuPont into three separate enterprises, focused on agriculture, materials and specialty chemicals, with Dow and DuPont owning a 50 percent stake in each.

The materials science company will fold in the automotive units of both Dow and DuPont, as well as the companies' performance materials divisions and Dow's performance plastics, consumer care and infrastructure segments, to create a combined $50 billion unit, the company said in a Friday conference call.

"By taking an integrated approach to customer-designed needs, we're going to deliver enormous value to our customers ...," Liveris said in the conference call, pointing out that the companies' specialties will allow it to provide more complete products to customers.

Nash agrees.

"Dow is one of the leaders in exteriors, and DuPont is really focused on the interiors now," Nash said. "Dow will now have the ability to serve customers much broader with a one-stop shop for components, and that bodes well for Midland, Detroit and Michigan."

Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042. Twitter: @dustinpwalsh