IG BCE - Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie

02/26/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/26/2026 06:40

Rally against BASF’s relocation plans from Berlin to India

Rally against BASF's relocation plans from Berlin to India

Foto: © Christian Burkert

The IGBCE chemical workers' union has called for a demonstration this Friday at noon outside BASF Services Europe's Berlin headquarters. Employees are protesting the company's plans to relocate large parts of its operations from Berlin to India and are pushing for negotiations on alternative solutions.

They are receiving strong political support: Kai Wegner, Berlin's Governing Mayor, will address the workforce on Friday, alongside Stephanie Albrecht-Suliak, head of IGBCE's Northeast regional district, as well as representatives from the works council and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). Hundreds of participants are expected to attend.

Details: Friday, February 27, at 11:15 AM Location: BASF Service Center, Storkower Straße 146, 10407 Berlin

Just two weeks ago, BASF suddenly announced plans to move significant parts of BASF Services Europe from Berlin to India. This comes despite a special collective agreement negotiated by IGBCE and chemical industry employers, which originally enabled BASF to consolidate its in-house services-such as finance, HR, and IT-in Berlin instead of outsourcing them to Slovakia. To secure this deal, employees had agreed to lower wages and longer working hours compared to the standard chemical industry collective agreement. Today, nearly 3,000 people work at the Berlin site.

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BASF plans to wield the axe

The chemical giant BASF plans to relocate thousands of in-house service jobs from Berlin to India. IGBCE and politicians are pushing back. Meanwhile, the company is also preparing drastic cuts in Ludwigshafen, aiming to sell thousands of its employee housing units.

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