Bayer calls for 10% salary cut at BMS

Employees at its Leverkusen, Uerdingen and Dormagen facilities in Germany will be affected from next month if the money-saving scheme goes ahead, and the workforce in Brunsbüttel could be involved from May.

“Negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on the introduction of short-time working are scheduled to commence on Monday,” said the company in a statement. “In the event that short-time working should be agreed upon at Bayer MaterialScience, 1,500 employees at the German plants would probably be affected.”

The move is part of the company’s response to the sharp downturn in global activity. Bayer chairman Werner Wenning told media organisations in December this had hit the BMS business very hard and had resulted in “considerably weaker sales and earnings” towards the end of last year.

Wenning also said the production cuts the company had implemented in 2008 would be followed this year with further cost reduction measures, which he said could include temporary shutdowns and short-time working.

According to Financial Times Deutschland, Bayer’s existing collective wage agreement includes a clause enabling the company to reduce salaries by up to 10% without reducing working hours.

The IG BCE mining and chemical industries union has, however, rejected the proposal and is calling on the company to develop alternative measures. The German regional Rheinische Post newspaper today reported that BMS works councils would consider salary cuts only if linked to guarantees of no job losses.

According to the company, similar measures have already been taken or are planned for the Bayer MaterialScience sites abroad.

Bayer MaterialScience, which employs 15,200 staff worldwide, generated sales of €10.4bn out of Bayer’s group sales of €32.6bn for 2007 (2008 full year figures are not yet released).

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