Restructuring the group: 12,000 jobs eliminated at Bayer

The pharmaceutical and agrochemical group Bayer is considering restructuring the group – with profound consequences. By the end of 2021, a total of 12,000 jobs should be cut. Society is fighting on many fronts.

The pharmaceutical and agrochemical group Bayer, based in Bayer Leverkusen, plans to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2021, many of them in Germany. Most job cuts will be attributed to the crop protection sector and to all of the company's functions, the company said.

Terminations must be excluded

At the same time, Bayer agreed with the company committee in Germany a program for the future, which will exclude layoffs on Bayer AG staff in Germany until the end from 2025.

The structural and efficiency measures aim to increase the competitiveness of the Dax Group and generate an annual contribution of € 2.6 billion, including the synergies expected from the Monsanto acquisition in 2022.

The reduction of the workforce is part of an efficiency improvement program designed to significantly increase productivity and profitability. Other items include the sale of the animal health business, the sale of Coppertone and Drs. Scholl's and the sale of the 60% stake in the German site chemical service provider Currenta.

Prosecutions in the United States

Bayer is currently fighting on several fronts. In the United States, following the Monsanto acquisition, the group faces numerous claims for glyphosate herbicide. The plaintiffs accuse Monsanto's American company, acquired by Bayer, of selling a carcinogen containing glyphosate and of not being sufficiently informed of the harmfulness.

Bayer resolutely rejects these allegations. Nevertheless, the Bayer stock has collapsed after the first glyphosate loss process mbadively. Still in the pharmaceutical sector, the group has recently announced new developments that are not very promising.