ST. LOUIS — Agribusiness giant Bayer is asking its employees to volunteer for severance packages as the company with a large ºüÀêÊÓƵ workforce readies for layoffs and navigates a shift to a “new operating model.â€
The move, announced in an email to workers last week, comes after years of financial turmoil and months of recent descriptions from Bayer of an upcoming push to restructure — and trim — its personnel.
It was not immediately clear how many of Bayer’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ-area jobs could be slashed amid the corporate overhaul of the life sciences conglomerate, nor the timeline for making the cuts. The company said that its “commitment to the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area remains strong.â€
“We are making adjustments in our structure, resulting in some positions being eliminated or redesigned, and a few new roles being created,†Bayer said in a Tuesday statement. “This is an ongoing, global process across our three divisions that is designed to strengthen our operations, fuel growth, enable future investment, and contribute to our company mission.â€
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Since striking its $63 billion deal to acquire Creve Coeur-based agribusiness titan Monsanto in 2018, Bayer has been left reeling from a series of setbacks and financial hardships. Many of them are linked to historical liabilities assumed from Monsanto products, such as billions of dollars in settlements for lawsuits alleging that the weedkiller Roundup caused cancer.
With the company’s valuation and stock prices nose-diving to just a fraction of where they stood at the time of the merger, new leadership at Bayer has sought to dramatically shake things up within the company.
CEO Bill Anderson, who took the helm last year, has said he seeks to streamline company operations because employees are currently “smothered under layers of management†and siloed into departments that slow action — ultimately hampering productivity and innovation, as he sees it.
Bayer has acknowledged that the transformation will reduce jobs across the company, and especially in its management ranks.
Last month, for instance, Bayer said that the unfolding changes “will come at the expense of many managerial employees,†according to Barbara Gansewendt, chairwoman of the Bayer Group Executives’ Committee, which represents the interests of managerial employees. “This is an extremely bitter development for us, but there is no viable alternative under the current circumstances. However, we have ensured that employees whose jobs will be eliminated under the new system will receive not only an attractive severance payment at market conditions, but also the necessary support and time for personal orientation in order to find new employment as quickly as possible.â€
The company’s restructuring initiative — and the associated job losses — were made more tangible last week, when employees were invited by email to notify the company if they wish to be considered for severance benefits, although it may take several weeks to determine if workers in specific roles are eligible.
On Friday, Bayer also posted an hourlong online video presentation, hosted by Anderson, discussing its push to become a transformed and more “nimble†company. Anderson calls his new effort to reorganize the company “Dynamic Shared Ownership, or “DSO†— a term he admits is not self-explanatory, and is open to changing, according to the video.
“If any of you have a catchier term, feel free to reach out to me,†he said.
Bayer says more details will be available early next month, when it will “share a comprehensive update on company direction†on March 5, at its “Capital Markets Day†event for investors. The company will also release its latest quarterly results and its annual report that same day.