Dialog with Employee Representatives

Trust-based cooperation with employee representatives is an important component of our corporate culture. Our open and ongoing dialog lays the foundation for balancing the interests of the company and its employees, even in challenging situations. In the case of organizational changes or if restructuring leads to staff downsizing, for example, we involve employee representatives to develop socially responsible implementation measures at an early stage. In 2020, this happened in connection with the transformation of the newly created Global Business Services unit, for example. Our actions are aligned with the respective legal regulations and the agreements reached, as well as operational considerations. During the coronavirus pandemic, we developed solutions together with employee representatives to continue our trust-based cooperation, despite the necessary pandemic-related restrictions. This enabled us to sign a new site agreement with the Works Council of BASF SE for the Ludwigshafen site in Germany in May 2020, which contains a clause that excludes forced redundancies until 2025.

By focusing our discussions on the local and regional situations, we aim to find tailored solutions to the different challenges and legal considerations for each site. The BASF Europa Betriebsrat (European Works Council) addresses cross-border matters in Europe. In South America, we foster dialog with the Diálogo Social.