As part of its latest restructuring steps, BASF said it intends to reduce administrative positions, including roles at its major business services hub in Berlin, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
The company did not provide specific figures for the planned cuts.
Germany’s vast chemical sector has struggled in recent years, weighed down by structural overcapacity, sluggish demand and persistently high energy prices. BASF — the world’s largest chemical producer and a major supplier to industries ranging from automotive manufacturing to agriculture — has been pursuing a broad savings programme, with a particular focus on its German operations.
At the same time, BASF outlined plans to expand back-office operations in Asia. This includes establishing a new hub in India and strengthening an existing centre in Malaysia to take on a wider range of administrative and digital functions.
Chief Financial Officer Dirk Elvermann said the company would adjust its location structures to generate substantial cost savings. Speaking as BASF presented its 2025 financial results, Elvermann emphasized that the company aims to improve efficiency through competitive service levels and targeted digitalisation. He added that BASF also plans to significantly reduce its overall workforce in the digital sector.
The group’s business services division currently employs around 8,500 people. Elvermann stressed that BASF does not plan to shut down its Berlin hub entirely, but acknowledged that staffing levels there will be lower than they are today. He said no concrete figure has yet been determined for the future size of the Berlin workforce.
On Friday, a trade union representing BASF employees organised a protest at the Berlin business services site, which employs roughly 3,000 people. The union criticized what it described as plans to relocate large parts of the operation to India.
The restructuring comes as BASF reported weaker financial results for 2025. Adjusted operating profit — a key indicator for investors — declined to 6.6 billion euros ($7.8 billion), down from 7.2 billion euros the previous year. Sales also fell, dropping to 59.7 billion euros from 61.4 billion euros in 2024.
BASF said it has already reduced its workforce by approximately 4,800 positions in recent periods and achieved cost savings of 1.7 billion euros in 2025, exceeding its internal targets.
The cost-cutting campaign is particularly focused on BASF’s historic Ludwigshafen site in western Germany, which is the largest integrated chemical complex in the world and a central pillar of the company’s global operations.
