FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - According to a press report, the pharmaceutical and chemical group Merck KGaA could cut further jobs. The Chemicals division is to reduce costs by up to 90 million euros, reported the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (Monday edition), citing a memo to employees from Kai Beckmann, member of the Executive Board and responsible for the Electronic Chemicals business. Merck confirmed the authenticity of the document on request.

"An adjustment to market demand will inevitably have an impact on our workforce," the newspaper quotes from the memo. Personnel and other costs will have to be reduced. "With all measures, we want to reduce our cost base by 60 to 90 million euros, which will already take full effect in the 2024 financial year."

"We are trying to minimize the impact on employees as much as possible, but we cannot rule out adjustments to personnel," a company spokesperson is quoted as saying. Layoffs for operational reasons are ruled out by an employment guarantee until the end of 2025. The Chemicals division ("Electronics") manufactures semiconductor materials for electronic devices and liquid crystals for screens, among other things. The electronics industry is "in a cyclical downturn that is deeper and longer lasting than the industry had previously assumed". Corporate customers have inventories at record levels and are cutting back on production and investment in capacity expansion.

According to the report, measures include procurement, production and the supply chain. At the beginning of the year, the DAX-listed company had already introduced two cost-cutting programs for its headquarters in Darmstadt.