Evonik Industries, a German chemicals company, unveiled its strategy on Monday to trim its global workforce by up to 2,000 positions by 2026, aiming to streamline operations and curtail expenses.
In light of the prevailing economic conditions, the company does not foresee any signs of recovery in 2024.
It is anticipated that these workforce reductions will yield substantial savings, amounting to approximately 400 million euros annually upon the completion of the program, according to the company's projections.
The majority of these job cuts, roughly 1,500 positions, are slated to occur within Germany.
Evonik, renowned for its diverse product portfolio encompassing items such as animal feed and components for Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, expects its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for 2024 to range between 1.7 billion to 2.0 billion euros.
CEO Christian Kullmann emphasized, "The prevailing circumstances are not merely cyclical fluctuations but rather significant, transformative shifts in our economic landscape."
Chemical enterprises like Evonik have grappled with challenges for over a year, attributed to diminished demand from industrial clients, necessitating inventory reductions.
Despite these strategic measures, the company intends to uphold its annual dividend at 1.17 euros per share, mirroring the payout from the previous year.
