Lanxess cuts 550 jobs worldwide, mainly in Cologne and Leverkusen

The specialty chemicals group Lanxess is cutting around 550 jobs worldwide, a large proportion of them in administrative functions at the Cologne and Leverkusen sites (production and technology are less affected). CEO Matthias Zachert describes the situation as a 'perfect storm': weak industrial demand, rising energy prices and higher raw-material and production costs are hitting at the same time. The cuts are to be carried out in a socially responsible manner – via voluntary programmes, early retirement, staggered redundancies and severance payments; in addition, temporary salary cuts (e.g. short-time work) are planned. Lanxess is a leading supplier of specialty chemicals with around 12,000 employees worldwide.