BASF to safeguard Ludwigshafen jobs, invest €9bn-10bn in site

24 November 2010 13:10  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--BASF will secure jobs at the company's site at Ludwigshafen, Germany, and will invest between €9bn-10bn ($12bn-13bn) until 2015 to safeguard the site's future, the chemicals major said on Wednesday.

A no-redundancy agreement signed by management and employee representatives would apply to around 33,000 workers at the site from the beginning of 2011 until the end of 2015, BASF said.

“The recent economic crisis highlighted the importance of close and trusting cooperation between the works council and management, which enabled us to avoid short-time work at the Ludwigshafen site for a long time and minimise its impact at a later stage,” said Harald Schwager, BASF's industrial relations director and a member of the company's board of executive directors.

BASF added that it planned to spend between €9bn-€10bn to safeguard the site's future, with two-thirds aimed at investment, modernisation and maintenance, and the remaining to be spent on research and development.

Another key element of the site agreement was a joint commitment toward safeguarding employment through training, personnel development and qualification, the company said.

($1 = €0.75)

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By: Hilde Ovrebekk
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