Chemistry | Evonik is cutting further jobs

The Evonik site in Essen Photo: IMAGO/Michael Gohl As part of the major savings program at the specialty chemicals company Evonik in Essen, the chemical union IGBCE is calling for the workforce reductions to be made in a socially responsible manner and at the same time to make pioneering investments in the future of the Evonik sites. Meanwhile, the group restructuring that has already been announced continues to take concrete shape. Plant closures, massive job cuts and company sales are planned. The MDax company wants to cut around 3,200 jobs by 2029, including 2,150 in Germany, it is said. The group also wants to separate its two subsidiaries Oxeno and Syneqt, which have almost 4,300 employees. North Rhine-Westphalia with the huge chemical park in Marl is particularly affected by this.

With a savings program that has been running for around three years and is now being extended until 2029, Evonik's workforce is expected to shrink by a total of around 10,000 to just 20,000 employees. In the course of the renovation, redundancies for operational reasons are still excluded. However, positions that become vacant should not be filled, employees should not be forced into early retirement, or voluntary departures should be agreed upon through severance payments.

“We now need courageous investments in the German locations.”

We heard from employees of the Essen-based company that many were worried. Especially since many retrenchment and staff reduction programs have already been supported. »We will continue to support the works councils in the upcoming negotiations. One thing is clear to us: These negotiations must take place on an equal footing,” says Sophia Schönborn from the IGBCE regional district of North Rhine-Westphalia in response to nd’s request.

Despite business currently going well - those close to the company say that Evonik is even benefiting from the US war of aggression against Iran - the group wants to respond to the structural problems in the chemical industry. For the year as a whole, the Chemical Industry Association (VCI) recently lowered its production forecast to a decline of 1.5 percent. At the beginning of the year, the VCI spoke of “stagnation”. So things are not going well for the key industry with almost half a million employees in Germany.

The chemical industry has long been struggling with below-average capacity utilization, expensive energy, US tariffs, the weak economy and, above all, foreign competition on the global market. The Iran war is placing additional strain on many chemical companies in Germany.

We can hear from the group that the results for the second quarter in particular were significantly above expectations. This has to do with the fact that the company is multinational and does not rely on intermediate products and the trade route across the Strait of Hormuz. However, the increased demand is only classified as a temporary effect within the group. According to people in the company environment, the restructuring will be “consistently pursued”.

From the IGBCE perspective, “concrete future prospects and investments in the innovative modernization of locations in this country” are now crucial. “There are good skilled workers, infrastructure, a stable democracy and a large market,” says Sophia Schönborn.

Evonik has announced that it wants to drive future growth, particularly in Asia and America. Schönborn warns that this orientation should not be at the expense of the German locations. »Taking advantage of growth opportunities in other markets is understandable. At the same time, bold investments are now needed in the German locations. Sustainability and the transformation to climate neutrality in particular continue to offer worthwhile future markets. “It is important to use this potential instead of constantly confronting the locations with new rounds of cuts,” says Schönborn.

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