The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Manufacturing (20 - 21) Manufacture of chemicals and pharmaceuticals 20 - Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 20 - Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
New offshoring locations
India, Malaysia
4,800 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
27 February 2026
Employment effect (start)
1 January 2025
Foreseen end date
1 January 2026
Description
BASF, a German chemical company, announced that it has cut about 4,800 jobs worldwide by the end of 2025.
Approximately half of these positions were eliminated in Germany. The company intends to further reduce employment in its European branches, moving some of its activities to Asia. BASF is to relocate administrative and back-office roles from hubs in Berlin and Ludwigshafen to new centres in Asia, specifically India and Malaysia: BASF 2026 - DE.
Labor unions representing BASF workers have organized protests against the relocation of business services, particularly at the Berlin hub, expressing concerns over the loss of high-skilled digital and administrative roles.
The restructuring programme was driven by high energy costs, overcapacity, and weak demand in the European chemical sector.
Headquartered in Ludwigshafen, BASF is the world's largest chemical group, employing approximately 112,000 people.
Previous global restructuring events of BASF have been recorded in the ERM database: BASF 2023-WO (2,600 job cuts), BASF 2021-WO (2,000 job cuts), BASF 2019-WO (6,000 job cuts).
Eurofound (2026), BASF, Offshoring/Delocalisation in World, factsheet number 204315, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/204315.
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