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Bayer cuts 1,700 German jobs in global reorganisation

Bayer announced it was going to cut 4,500 jobs over the next year or so, with around 1,700 positions going in Germany, as managers focus on research and development, and marketing new products in emerging markets.

Published: 20 November 2010 12:08 CET

Bayer cuts 1,700 German jobs in global reorganisation

Photo: DPA

Around 2,500 new jobs will be created in developing countries, leaving the net loss of positions at around 2,000, most of them in Germany.

Trades unions criticised the plan. “The programme is hard and not justifiable in its range,” Reiner Hoffmann, head of the IG BCE told the Rheinische Post paper.

Unions had known that managers were planning a savings programme which would involve job losses, but had not expected such large numbers to be involved.

Hoffmann said it was right for Bayer to invest in emerging markets, but said he was concerned that the firm was not only cutting jobs in administration but also in research.

Bayer CEO Marijn Dekker only took over the position two months ago, announced the job cuts and some reorganisation on Thursday evening. The plan is for costs to be reduced by €800 million a year from 2013, but that until then €1 billion will have to be invested to reshape the firm.

Bayer has three branches of business, HealthCare, which produces pharmaceuticals, CropScience which focuses on fertilizer and pesticides, and Material Science which produces high-tech materials. The savings plan will affect largely the first two branches.

“Bayer has great business potential in all three subgroups. To better exploit this potential, we must continue to bundle existing resources and streamline our structures. That is the only way we can sustainably finance our investment in growth and innovation – for example in new pharmaceutical products, in our BioScience business and in the expansion of our capacities in Asia,” said Dekkers.

“The cutbacks involved will not be easy, but they are necessary. I am convinced that with more innovation and less administration, Bayer can become a better and faster company.”

DPA/hc

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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