BASF cuts jobs in Cognis integration
The German chemicals group acquired compatriot Cognis in late 2010 for €3bn
It issued a statement on Friday saying the integration of Cognis is on track, and setting out its growth goal – as well as expectations of cost synergies of around €140m by the end of 2013. The integration is expected to be accreditive as of 2012, less than two years after the acquisition.
Key to the growth plan is the leveraging of the extended customer base, new capabilities to provide solutions for customers, and innovation capabilities. There is also a focus on the regional set up of the combined business.
As for cost savings, these are driven by a combination of procurement activities, consolidation of administration structures, improved production efficiency, and IT consolidation.
In total BASF will be eliminating 680 jobs in the functional and administrative units due to overlaps between the two parts of the enlarged company and measures to improve efficiency.
The blow is somewhat softened by the creation of 230 new jobs in the Care Chemicals division in order to support growth in that area, making an overall loss of 450 in headcount.
According to its website, BASF has a total of 190,000 staff.
Dr John Feldman, a member of BASF’s executive’s board responsible for the integration of Cognis, said in the statement: “Through the acquisition, we have strengthened our activities in growing markets such as personal and home care, nutrition and health, coating additives synlubes and mining chemicals.
“The businesses complement each other excellently and allow us to offer our customers a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions from both renewable and petro-based chemistry.”
