Germany's chemical industry wage talks stall amid deep economic crisis
Wage talks for Germany's chemical and pharmaceutical industry have paused after just two days. Employers and unions remain divided over how to handle the sector's deep economic troubles. The dispute centres on balancing job security with the need for companies to recover competitiveness.
The chemical industry is facing severe challenges. Output has dropped by a fifth since 2018, and a quarter of all plants now sit idle. Around 25,000 jobs have been lost or shut down, with North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony hit hardest. Major sites like BASF in Ludwigshafen, Bayer in Dormagen, and Evonik in Marl have seen significant cuts.
Matthias BĂźrk, lead negotiator for the BAVC employers' group, called for a pause in wage demands. He argued that businesses need breathing room to reposition themselves after years of losses. BĂźrk described the situation as a 'paradigm shift,' with no short-term gains in sight. He insisted that job security depends on restoring competitiveness, not on new regulations.
The IGBCE union, however, is pushing for binding collective agreements to protect employment. Both sides will return to negotiations in Wiesbaden on February 23 and 24. The talks cover 1,700 companies and nearly 600,000 workers.
The next round of discussions will determine how the burden of economic decline is shared. Employers want flexibility to rebuild, while unions demand guarantees for workers. The outcome will shape the future of one of Germany's largest industrial sectors.
