Overview
- BASF has sped up a restructuring started in 2024 and says it has cut about 7,000 jobs worldwide since January 2024.
- The workforce at the Ludwigshafen headquarters fell below 30,000 full-time positions for the first time since 1954, a reduction the company calls necessary to make the site competitive again.
- Management plans further moves of administrative services to Asia that affect roughly 8,500 roles and has opened a new large plant complex in China as part of the geographic shift.
- The cuts and sales of non-core units, including the paints and sealants business, coincided with stronger second-quarter results of €17.2 billion in revenue and €2.4 billion in EBITDA before special items, prompting BASF to raise its 2026 profit forecast to €6.9–7.7 billion.
- The company now employs about 95,000 people worldwide and the restructuring highlights wider pressure on Germany’s chemical sector from high energy costs, heavy regulation and lower-cost competition from China that could further reshape jobs and investment choices.