Ludwigshafen, Germany - BASF is introducing short-time work in the coming months for around 1000 employees in 20 production plants and service units at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the company said 14 May.
Most of the 1000 employees will begin working short-time in June and July with the rest following in August and September, mainly at production plants for pigments, intermediates, petrochemicals and inorganics, the company added.
BASF said hours worked will be reduced by between 20 and 100 percent for up to four months, depending on circumstances at each individual plant. However, employees will receive a net wage of around 90 percent as a result of short-time work compensation from the German government, under the terms of the collective wage agreement for the chemical industry.
BASF emphasised that normal hours could resume at any time should demand pick up.
BASF had previously announced it was assessing the workload at production plants in April, following earlier discussions with the Works Council and employee representatives.
"Capacity utilisation rates at many plants have remained very low since the beginning of the year, and we do not expect any improvement over the summer months," said Harald Schwager, head of the company's Ludwigshafen site. He went on to say that the short-time working measure is designed to temporarily bridge the decline in orders and that the company is temporarily transferring employees to other units or using flexible time to respond to the decline in work volume.
Around 5200 employees are already working short-time at 19 sites across Europe, BASF said. The company is examining further possible measures in the event that business does not improve in the second half of the year. (RD)
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