Nov 26 2004
Management and employee representatives at BASF have signed an agreement that provides clear perspectives for Ludwigshafen, the company’s largest site. The agreement “Stability through Change” was signed today (November 23, 2004) at a press conference held by BASF Aktiengesellschaft in Ludwigshafen. Under the terms of the agreement, the number of employees of BASF Aktiengesellschaft will be approximately 32,000 by the end of 2007. This target value, and the avoidance of enforced redundancies, will continue to apply until 2010.
“The precondition for this agreement is that the site is not impacted by economic factors or negative circumstances that endanger BASF Aktiengesellschaft’s competitiveness to such an extent that we have to respond with specific structural measures,” said Eggert Voscherau, Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF Aktiengesellschaft. “This makes it necessary to review and discuss the viability of the agreement each year with employee representatives, and this also applies to the effects of natural fluctuation,” he continued.
Robert Oswald, Chairman of BASF’s works council in Ludwigshafen, was satisfied with what has been achieved. “We are pursuing a responsible policy, and – like the Board of Executive Directors – we are helping to safeguard the jobs of tomorrow and beyond,” he said.
Voscherau stressed that growth in Germany was a fundamental prerequisite for employment. “With the Ludwigshafen Site Project that we launched two years ago, we have started the restructuring measures necessary to improve the competitiveness of the world’s largest chemical site over the long term,” he said. The project is scheduled to reduce the site’s costs permanently by €450 million by mid-2005, and savings of €350 million have been identified to date.
Up to 2009, BASF plans to invest a total of €6 billion in capital expenditures, modernization and plant maintenance at the Ludwigshafen site. This corresponds to an average of €1.2 billion per year. In addition, €700 million will be spent on research and development of modern processes and innovative products.