New site agreement for BASF Ludwigshafen site

Investments of €9 - 10 billion until 2015 to strengthen future of Verbund site

26-Nov-2010 - Germany

BASF SE management and employee representatives signed a new site agreement for the company’s Ludwigshafen site. The agreement, titled “Safeguarding the future through flexibility and operational partnership,” applies to the approximately 33,000 BASF SE employees at the site for the period from the beginning of 2011 to end of 2015. It replaces the site agreement from end of 2004 which expires at the end of this year.

A no-redundancy pledge is a key element of the agreement. Another is the company's promise to spend €9 to 10 billion on measures to safeguard the site’s future through to the end of 2015. Approximately two-thirds of the amount will be used on investment, modernization and maintenance to keep the Ludwigshafen site performing at its best in terms of technology and organization and thus strengthening core operations. The investment thus remains at the high level of the past years. Research and development expenditure will also be at the level of previous years and will account for more than one-third of the total amount. Ludwigshafen will remain the central platform for global research and development at BASF.

In a bid to meet the challenges posed by increasingly unpredictable fluctuations in market demand, management and employee representatives have agreed on a package of measures to enhance the flexibility of HR systems in the site agreement. Close and trusting relationship in the economic crisis “The recent economic crisis highlighted the importance of close and trusting cooperation between the works council and management, which enabled us to avoid short-time work at the Ludwigshafen site for a long time and minimize its impact at a later stage. This was possible because both sides were willing to show flexibility on human resources issues. The new site agreement captures this spirit and ensures that the site is equipped to weather future storms,” said Dr. Harald Schwager, Member of the Board of Executive Directors and Industrial Relations Director of BASF SE.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/126492/new-site-agreement-for-basf-ludwigshafen-site.html