Leverkusen, Germany - The Bayer Group has begun to introduce a new organizational model worldwide called “Dynamic Shared Ownership” (DSO), which is intended to reduce hierarchies, eliminate bureaucracy, streamline structures and accelerate decision-making processes.
The aim of the new model is to make the company significantly more agile overall and to significantly increase its operational performance. In a joint statement, the Management Board of Bayer AG and the employee representatives on the Supervisory Board agreed on principles for the future of the company. This also includes regulations for the significant reductions in personnel expected in the group companies in Germany as a result of the restructuring.
“Bayer is currently in a difficult situation for various reasons. In order to quickly and sustainably improve the performance of our organization and our scope for action, drastic measures are now necessary. We want to get Bayer back on the road to success quickly,” explains Heike Prinz, board member and labor director at Bayer AG. “In order to overcome this challenging situation, it is crucial that management and employee representatives pull together and agree on the steps necessary for the future of the company, as the Joint Declaration puts it. Only if we act together and decisively now can we remove all internal obstacles and position Bayer for future profitable growth.”
“We See A Great Opportunity In The New Operating Model”
“As employee representatives, we are committed to the continued existence of the group and all of its three divisions. We see the new operating model as a great opportunity to significantly improve our economic situation. However, in the company's tense economic situation, the programs and measures already in place are not sufficient, which is why we have agreed to further cuts with a heavy heart," says Heike Hausfeld, Chairwoman of the General Works Council of Bayer AG. “In negotiations with the employer, however, we managed to make the upcoming job cuts as socially acceptable as possible within the framework of existing options. We were also able to ensure that general employment security was extended by another year until the end of 2026.”
“Our new operating model is intended to make Bayer faster and more innovative. However, its introduction will come at the expense of many managers,” explains Dr. Barbara Gansewendt, Chairwoman of the Bayer AG Group Spokesperson Committee, which represents the interests of senior managers. “This is an extremely bitter development for us, but there is no viable alternative under the given conditions. However, we have achieved that employees whose jobs are lost in the new system will, in addition to an attractive severance payment at market conditions, also receive the necessary support and time for personal orientation if necessary in order to find new employment as quickly as possible.”
“Our top priority is to secure the future of Bayer’s employees. We see the greatest opportunities for this in the existing ONE Bayer structure. That’s why we have agreed to the path we have now taken and are open to Bayer’s new organizational model,” says Francesco Grioli, member of the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG and the executive board of IG Mining, Chemistry, Energy. “A lot will change for the employees. We will work together to ensure that everyone can safely tread new paths.”
The job cuts should be implemented quickly in the coming months and be completed by the end of 2025 at the latest. In accordance with the principles of DSO, it should be largely decentralized, so that its scope cannot be quantified for the time being. Since DSO is intended to reduce hierarchies and complex structures in the company, the job cuts will also affect employees with management or coordination tasks. Bayer currently employs around 22,200 people in Germany.
Regulations For Job Cuts In Germany
In its German group companies, Bayer offers employees severance agreements based on their age, as was the case with previous restructuring measures. The company also offers employees whose positions are canceled a cooling-off period of up to six months, during which they are supported through targeted positioning and external placement offers to quickly find new employment outside the group that matches their skills and qualifications. If necessary, affected employees can also receive individual qualification measures for the external labor market for up to twelve months. A “Future Skills Academy” is also intended to identify future-relevant skills and support employees in acquiring them.
In order to give the employees affected by the loss of their jobs the necessary time and security for external reorientation and qualification, the company parties are extending the employment security with the waiver of redundancies for operational reasons until December 30, 2026. This also offers the employees affected by the loss of their jobs more time and security for reorientation and qualification. The employment relationships of employees whose positions have been eliminated and who have not left the company by the end of 2026 will be terminated for operational reasons on December 31, 2026 if necessary. “The fact that job security is only being extended for one year makes it clear that we are in an exceptionally serious situation. The danger of dismissals for operational reasons at the end of an employment security agreement, which has been theoretical for 27 years, has now become a real option. Despite the difficult situation, we found it extremely difficult to accept this. However, we agree with the employer that dismissals for operational reasons should only be used as a last resort in the future,” explains Hausfeld.
Bayer Confirms Future Concept For Germany
The Joint Declaration also contains some commitments that are important for Germany as a business location and its employees. The operating parties are reaffirming the future concept adopted in March 2022, with which Bayer is to be strategically developed in Germany and the parts of the company there are intended to be future-oriented. Bayer also intends to further develop its corporate headquarters located in Germany in accordance with the DSO. The operating parties also agree to improve the company pension scheme at Bayer and to complete the already initiated return of initial vocational training from external service providers to the company as planned by the end of 2024.
For more information, visit www.bayer.com/de.