Tuesday November 6, 07:08 PM
Bayer to cut up to 1,500 jobs at plastics unit
FRANKFURT (AFP) - The German chemicals and pharmaceutical group Bayer (Xetra: 575200 - news) said Tuesday that it could cut up to 1,500 jobs at its plastics unit, equal to about 10 percent of the division's total workforce.
Between 400 and 500 jobs would be eliminated in Germany, Bayer chairman Werner Wenning told a press conference after presenting the group's third quarter results.
"Most of these would be achieved via natural fluctuations spread over 2008 and 2009," such as by not replacing retired workers, Wenning said.
Earlier in the day, the group had said it would restructure the plastics division with the aim of saving 300 million euros annually by the end of 2009.
It is part of the larger Bayer MaterialScience divison, which posted a slight 1.1 percent increase in third quarter sales, although core earnings before one-off items grew 10.5 percent to 421 million euros (610 million dollars).
"This was the first time in fiscal 2007 that Bayer MaterialScience showed a year-on-year improvement in underlying quarterly earnings," Wenning noted.
Cost cutting measures would focus on administrative, marketing and distribution costs, and would result in special charges of 150-200 million euros, Bayer said in a statement.
"The headcount reduction necessitated by the measures can be accomplished in a socially compatible way and through normal attrition," it added.
With annual sales of 10.16 billion euros last year, a third of the overall Bayer group, the MaterialScience unit is one of the largest makers of plastics in the world, employing 14,900 people at around 40 sites.
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