German polysilicon maker will cut 1,000 jobs

Wacker Chemie has taken the first steps of its restructuring program with the lay-offs set to particularly affect its German locations. Poor performance by the chemical company’s polysilicon business is the main cause of the crisis.

The company said it hopes to avoid redundancies among staff working directly in production roles.

Wacker Chemie AG

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From pv magazine Germany.

Munich-based chemical group Wacker Chemie AG has begun its “Shaping the Future” restructuring plan by announcing 1,000 jobs will be lost by the end of 2022 as it aims to save €250 million per year.

The company announced around 800 posts will be culled at German sites with administrative staff and people working in indirect and non-operational roles those at risk.

As far as possible, the job cuts will be realized through retirement, partial retirement schemes or termination agreements, Wacker said, emphasizing it wants to avoid redundancies among its manufacturing staff.

Tougher pace

Chief human resources officer Christian Hartel said he was confident “good and fair solutions” could be negotiated with employee representatives. Wacker employs around 14,500 people worldwide, 10,000 of whom are based in Germany.

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Wacker boss Rudolf Staudigl said the company “is preparing itself to take a tougher pace in the competition both in the polysilicon business and in our chemical divisions”.

Annual figures for 2019 published by Wacker last month indicated heavy losses after write-downs related to the company’s polysilicon division.

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