Clariant reduces staff numbers in Switzerland

10-Jun-2004

Working closely with employee representatives, Clariant (Schweiz) Ltd has agreed on a social plan setting out the conditions under which some 250 to 280 jobs will be eliminated at its Muttenz and Reinach plants. The job cuts are part of a global transformation program announced in August 2003, which aims to lower the Group's cost base and secure its competitiveness in the marketplace. The reduction in headcount will be achieved in part by natural attrition. However, the social plan also sets out arrangements for early retirement, and for around 100 redundancies which will be necessary for operational reasons. Internal job exchanges and assistance in finding new positions outside the company (outplacement) will be provided in order to keep this figure as low as possible. During several weeks of intensive negotiations, employee representatives submitted a list of requests relating in particular to early retirement, redundancy pay and notice periods. These were accepted by the Executive Board and have been incorporated into the social plan. The entire workforce reduction is to be completed by the end of 2005.

The transformation program which Clariant initiated in August 2003 aims to restore the company's competitive ability and secure its long-term future. It calls for optimization of structures and processes and a sustained reduction in costs. As part of this strategy, Clariant announced in February 2004 that it was to eliminate some 4 000 jobs worldwide in all areas of the company, from general administration through to production. Switzerland (Muttenz and Reinach) is the first of the firm's locations to have progressed far enough with its analysis to be able to specify potential savings and the related reduction in staff numbers.

Clariant (Schweiz) AG has seen a 25% decline in sales in recent years, combined with a sharp fall in profits. This is essentially a result of the global business trend, especially in the textile industry, for companies to follow their clients and shift production to Asia, where fast-growing markets for textile dyes in particular have emerged in recent years. Clariant - and especially its Muttenz plant, which is heavily dependent on the production of textile dyes - is not immune to this development. The company wishes, however, to maintain its production activities in Switzerland, and this cannot be achieved without rapid reductions in costs and the optimization of structures, processes and functions to deliver high value added products. To this end, Clariant has initiated over 100 individual measures, including merging of operations, optimization of production runs, and inventory management.

New jobs at Group headquarters

As part of the transformation program, a number of key Group functions are to be merged at the Group's headquarters in Muttenz, with a view to achieving synergies and strengthening the company's strategic management. As a result many new positions, but with different job profiles, will be transferred over the next two years from Clariant's various national operations to headquarters. Details of the functions and companies concerned have not yet been finalized.

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