German chem employees warn of job cuts

19 November 2008 15:11  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--German chemical producers need to avoid restructuring their way out of the current crisis through job cuts, a chemical employees' group said on Wednesday.

 

The remarks came as BASF announced it would temporarily shut down 80 plants worldwide and reduce production at approximately 100 plants, affecting some 20,000 jobs.

 

“It would be a mistake for firms to revamp their operations at the expense of employees,” said Reiner Siekerkotter, spokesman for VAA, a 30,000-member group that represents the interests of managerial and executive employees in Germany’s chemicals industry.

 

He pointed to demographic trends which show that the industry is already facing the challenge of an aging German workforce.

 

As for the much discussed role of government in the crisis, Siekerkotter said it should primarily focus on providing reasonable frameworks and conditions to give companies confidence in their planning and investment decisions.

 

He also said that VAA’s earlier estimate of 3,500 jobs losses in Germany’s chemical industry next year excluded the impacts of the worsening financial crisis.

 

Current German chemical industry employment was around 439,000, he added, and not 342,500 as VAA had stated earlier. 

 

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By: Stefan Baumgarten
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