R&D jobs to go at BASF's crop protection unit

25 November 2002 00:00  [Source: PCE]

BASF will cut some 300 jobs in crop protection R&D worldwide within the next three years.

The cuts, which are principally in herbicide research, will reduce the number of drop crop protection R&D jobsÊby just over 20% to about 1130, a spokesman said.

He said that by 2003, BASF will pull out from R&D sites in Gosport, UK and Nelspruit, South Africa. Discussions are under way for existing partners to take over BASF's activities at these sites.

The spokesman said capacities of BASF's remaining R&D sites will be adjusted, with around 100 jobs going over the next three years in the Ludwigshafen and Limburgerhof units in Germany.

In a realignment of its crop protection R&D, BASF said it will intensify active ingredient research in insecticides and fungicides, areas which have a substantial market potential for innovative products.

BASF said the market for innovative insecticides will reach about $3.02bn within the next decade. This is because registration problems will force older products out of the marketplace and insects tend to build natural resistance against products over time.

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