Bayer has announces multiple cost-cutting moves, including cutting 12,000 jobs of 118,200 worldwide, a significant number of them in Germany.
The company intends to exit the Animal Health business and is assessing available options. Bayer intends to allocate the investment resources necessary to support Animal Health to Bayer’s core businesses of Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Crop Science.
At Consumer Health, the company has initiated measures to enable the division to catch up to market growth in the coming years and improve profitability. These measures include a planned exit from product categories that have more favorable development potential outside of Bayer. In addition to the previously announced divestment of prescription dermatology products, Bayer will review its strategic options in the coming months with a view to exiting the sun care (Coppertone) and foot care (Dr. Scholl’s) product lines. Through these moves, the company intends to focus on driving profitable growth in its core Consumer Health categories.
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Furthermore, Bayer is in discussions regarding the divestment of its 60-percent interest in German site services provider Currenta. Following the successful carve-out of Covestro, Bayer’s use of Currenta’s services no longer justifies this 60-percent stake.
The planned job cuts by the end of 2021 is accounted for by the various measures as follows:
- Pharmaceuticals: Approximately 900 jobs in R&D and around 350 positions in connection with the factor VIII facility in Wuppertal
- Consumer Health: Roughly 1,100 jobs associated with the reorganization
- Crop Science: Approximately 4,100 positions as the result of integrating the acquired agriculture business
- Corporate Functions: 5,500 to 6,000 jobs in the supporting functions, Business Services and country platforms
“These changes are necessary and lay the foundation for Bayer to enhance its performance and agility. With these measures, we aim to take full advantage of the growth potential for our businesses,” said Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG. “We are aware of the gravity of these decisions for our employees. As in the past, we will implement the planned measures in a fair and responsible way.”