Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – BASF signalled on Friday it would shift jobs from its home market of Germany to Asia, as the struggling chemical giant seeks to aggressively cut costs. The vast German chemical sector has been mired in crisis in recent years due to overcapacity, weak demand, and high energy costs.
BASF, the world’s biggest chemical group and a key supplier to industries ranging from automotive to agriculture, has launched a major savings drive, in particular directed at its operations in Germany. In its latest move, the group said it intended to cut administrative jobs, including at a major hub in Berlin, without giving a precise figure. It outlined plans to build up hubs for a range of back-office roles in Asia — a new one to be opened in India and an existing centre in Malaysia.
“We will adapt our existing location structures and achieve significant cost savings as a result,” BASF chief financial officer Dirk Elvermann told reporters, as the group reported falling operating profits and sales for 2025. “We want to achieve efficiency gains through competitive service levels and targeted digitalisation, and we will also significantly reduce our overall workforce in the digital sector.” The business services division has about 8,500 employees in total.
He insisted that “we do not plan to close Berlin” but added that the “hub will be smaller in terms of staffing than it is today.” There was no “concrete figure” for future staffing levels in the German capital, he said. On Friday, a union representing BASF workers was organising a protest at the group’s business services hub in Berlin, which has some 3,000 staff, against what it said were plans to “relocate large parts” of the business to India.
BASF reported Friday that its adjusted operating profit, a key metric for investors and analysts, slipped to 6.6 billion euros ($7.8 billion) in 2025 from 7.2 billion the year before. Sales fell to 59.7 billion euros, from 61.4 billion in 2024. BASF said it had cut around 4,800 jobs in recent times and had achieved cost savings of 1.7 billion euros in 2025, ahead of its goals. Its savings drive is targeted in particular at its historic site in Ludwigshafen, western Germany, the largest chemical complex in the world.
© 2024 AFP
