Bayer Cuts 700 Jobs and Shuts Key Sites in Germany to Combat Asian Competition

Bayer is taking drastic steps to restructure its crop protection operations in Germany, with plans to cease production at its Frankfurt site and scale down activities in Dormagen by the end of 2028. The shake-up will impact roughly 700 jobs, as the company faces mounting pressure from Asian generics and global overcapacity.

The Frankfurt facility, which focuses on herbicide production and development, will see its operations either sold off or transferred to other European locations, including Knapsack and Dormagen. R&D efforts from Frankfurt will be consolidated at Bayer’s Monheim headquarters, where the company is expanding a dedicated innovation hub for crop protection.

The Dormagen site, currently Bayer’s largest production base for active ingredients, will retain its strategic importance. However, production of non-differentiated active ingredients will be discontinued, and the site will pivot to high-value, proprietary technologies.

Bayer emphasized that not all affected positions will be lost—some will move to other sites or be retained through divestitures. Nonetheless, about 200 positions at Dormagen are expected to be directly impacted, adding to the 500 roles in Frankfurt at risk.

This restructuring is part of Bayer’s broader “Five-Year Framework”, launched earlier this year to strengthen the global competitiveness of its Crop Science division. The urgency of the transformation was reinforced by Bayer’s Q1 earnings, which showed a 3.3% sales drop to €7.58 billion and a 10.2% decline in core EBITDA to €2.56 billion.

Looking ahead, Bayer aims to focus on innovative and differentiated active ingredients, with several high-impact launches expected in the next decade. The company believes this pivot is essential to maintain its leadership amid global industry shifts.