BASF is relocating jobs from its Berlin site to Asia. The affected areas include financial and human resources services, as well as supply chain-related tasks. The chemical company plans to consolidate these functions in India and Malaysia. This move is part of a comprehensive restructuring and is prompted by intensified cost-cutting measures. The critical issue lies in the lack of clarity regarding the extent of the reductions. This is causing increasing uncertainty for the approximately 2,800 employees in Berlin, while protests and political criticism are mounting. (merkur: 04.03.26)
Protest in Berlin after surprising about-face
The decision hits the workforce at a particularly sensitive point. BASF deliberately established its Berlin site around 20 years ago. At that time, the company consolidated internal services such as finance, human resources, and IT in the capital. Employees even accepted lower wages to prevent these tasks from being outsourced to Slovakia.
Now, discontent is growing because this earlier commitment is effectively losing its weight. Last week, around 300 employees demonstrated in front of the BASF service center in Prenzlauer Berg. They want the company management to negotiate alternatives. Stephanie Albrecht-Suliak of the IGBCE union explained: “Over 20 years ago, we jointly committed to this location, together we built it up, the employees made sacrifices, and together we will defend it.” Berlin’s Governing Mayor also spoke at the rally.
BASF focuses on Asia and intensifies corporate restructuring
Despite the protests, BASF is sticking to its course. The company describes the measures as part of a transformation process. The goal is to automate processes more extensively and relocate more tasks to more cost-effective locations. However, activities that must be performed close to the respective sites are to remain in Berlin.
The move towards Asia fits into a larger restructuring. In the past two years, BASF has cut 4,800 jobs company-wide. Roughly half of this decline was attributable to Germany. Furthermore, the number of managers fell by eleven percent. At the same time, key performance indicators deteriorated. Revenue fell by three percent last year to approximately €59.7 billion. EBITDA before special items dropped by almost ten percent to just under €6.6 billion.
China is becoming increasingly important for BASF
In parallel with downsizing in Germany, BASF is investing heavily abroad. The large integrated production site in Zhanjiang, China, is scheduled to open in the first quarter. Around 2,000 jobs are expected to be created there. The project has a volume of approximately €8.7 billion and is the largest single undertaking for the company. After Ludwigshafen and Antwerp, Zhanjiang will thus become BASF’s third-largest site.
Clear economic motives lie behind this strategy. China already accounts for around half of the global chemical market. Furthermore, BASF expects a large portion of the growth in the Asia-Pacific region to occur there. Lower operating costs are another factor. Energy is cheaper, while taxes, duties, and bureaucratic hurdles are often less stringent. Therefore, BASF is accelerating its relocation to Asia, while German sites continue to come under pressure. For Berlin, this is more than an isolated case. The site exemplifies the gradual erosion of industrial functions in Germany.