BASF Antwerp announced a far-reaching cost-cutting plan Wednesday morning during a special works council meeting. Belgium’s largest chemical company says it needs to reduce its fixed costs by €150 million annually to address the economic challenges. To achieve these savings, 600 of BASF Antwerp’s current 3,600 jobs will be eliminated. The target is to complete this operation by 2028.
The company’s management has assured union representatives that there will be no layoffs, but that “maximum focus will be on job-to-job transitions.” BASF Antwerp claims it can avoid forced layoffs through natural attrition, a so-called “expansion of the internal labor market,” and a voluntary severance plan, in which employees are guided to new jobs outside the company. The company states that with this plan, it honors the agreement with employees regarding job security until the end of 2028. Management also points out that even the management team will not escape the staff reduction: five of the fourteen management positions will be eliminated.
The unions are relieved that there is no collective layoff. However, Levi Sollie of the socialist union has the impression that management is not very eager to discuss the downsizing plan the company has already developed with the unions.
Spokeswoman Lotte Dierckx also declined to comment on what exactly BASF Antwerp means by this expansion of the internal labor market. She emphasized that the chemical company is also exploring how to reduce costs for activities outsourced to subcontractors.
No surprise
The chemical company was already implementing a cost-cutting plan. In November 2024, BASF announced its intention to save €100 million annually. At the time, it was still assumed that the associated job losses could be fully offset by natural attrition and retirements. But that’s no longer sufficient now that the target is €150 million in annual cost savings, says the BASF Antwerp spokesperson.
According to BASF Antwerp, the initial savings plan got off to a good start, and the first results are visible. However, the economic context and the lack of tangible support measures for the chemical sector are forcing the company to intervene again, they say. ABVV union representative Jan Vlegels reports that the initial plan has already resulted in the elimination of 100 jobs. These are part of the 600 job cuts announced today.
Voka is already urging our country’s policymakers to do everything they can to preserve the crown jewels of Flemish industry. “This includes implementing the promised reduction in transmission grid tariffs, reducing labor costs and regulatory burden, as well as reforming the permitting policy and establishing ‘credible support mechanisms’ to decarbonize the industry.”
Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele says the Flemish government is supporting the industry, for example, with permits or energy policy. He believes the big question is with Europe. Diependaele believes the European Union should focus more on the competitiveness of European industry. He adds that tightening climate targets for 2040 is not an option.
The downsizing of BASF Antwerp doesn’t come as a complete surprise. “We’ve been bombarded with one cost-cutting plan after another,” says union representative Jan Vlegels. The German chemical company BASF has been in cost-cutting mode for quite some time. In recent years, it has implemented several major cost-cutting measures, particularly at its German headquarters in Ludwigshafen.
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