Sawt Falasteen - 'Sacrificed futures': German chemical workers protest looming job cuts

The looming cuts at a major office employing some 3,000 administrative staff in the capital are the latest sign of the huge pressures facing Germany's traditional industries.

They are part of a cost-cutting drive by the world's biggest chemical company, which has been battered by high energy costs in Germany, weak demand and massive overcapacity on global markets.

"What BASF is doing is not right," Jesus Pinate, who works in BASF's HR division, told AFP at the protest.

"They are taking away important jobs, a bunch of people are going to be unemployed," added the 33-year-old, as some 300 protesters waved the red and white flags of the IGBCE chemical workers union.

They also brandished placards emblazoned with various messages playing on the company's name, such as "Berliners Axed, Shareholders Flourishing" and "Budget Above Staff Futures?"

Berlin mayor Kai Wegner addressed the protesters outside the BASF offices in Berlin, telling them that we "are fighting together for this site"

"We are fighting together for your jobs with the works council, with the union, and with the Berlin legislature -- I am sure that we will achieve something here".

Outlining the plans Friday as it unveiled downbeat financial results, BASF said that back-office jobs would be reduced including at the Berlin office -- the European hub of the global business services division -- although it did not give a figure.

A whole range of administrative tasks will in future be carried out at a new site to be established in India, as well as at an existing centre in Malaysia, the group said.

- 'Uncertain future' -

"We will adapt our existing location structures and achieve significant cost savings as a result," BASF chief financial officer Dirk Elvermann told reporters.

He offered assurances that the Berlin hub would not be closed completely but conceded that it "will be smaller in terms of staffing than it is today".

Union representatives however slammed the plans to "relocate large parts" of the Berlin operation to India, and accused management of breaching existing agreements.

Europe's biggest economy has faced a storm of problems in recent years, from a manufacturing slump and fierce competition from China to weak demand in key export markets and high energy prices.

Firms large and small are shedding jobs, and there is a steady drumbeat of redundancy announcements in sectors ranging from automotive to factory equipment makers.

BASF's latest results highlighted their problems -- adjusted operating profit, a key metric for investors and analysts, slipped to 6.6 billion euros ($7.8 billion) in 2025 from 7.2 billion the year before.

Sales meanwhile fell to 59.7 billion euros, from 61.4 billion in 2024. The company's shares fell by two percent after the results were announced.

The group, with around 110,000 staff worldwide, is hoping for a turnaround through its cost savings, targeting in particular its historic site in Ludwigshafen, the largest chemical complex in the world.

BASF CEO Markus Kamieth said Friday his message was that "cost pressure will naturally remain".

"We will continue to seek constant productivity improvements and cost reductions in the coming years, especially in Europe, but also worldwide."

But such comments will likely offer little solace to the BASF workers in Berlin whose jobs are facing the axe.

"I think we're all disappointed," Iris Esteves, a 40-year-old taking part in the demonstration, told AFP.

"I feel uncertain about the future. Nobody knows if our job is going to be transferred."

R.Halabi--SF-PST