BASF says its layoffs in Research Triangle Park are expected to affect “only 106 jobs,” not as many as 190 as cited in a mass layoff filing with the state of North Carolina.
The difference in the numbers is because many affected employees could accept other jobs with the company, a BASF person said via email.
“In a notice sent Friday to the state Department of Commerce, BASF said the restructuring had the potential to impact 190 positions but the total number of people being laid off is likely to be only 106, since affected employees are being given the opportunity to apply for other open positions with the company,” said Fran Castle, senior communications manager for BASF Bioscience Research in RTP.
“The layoffs in RTP are in line with estimates that BASF made in February when it said it planned to eliminate 350 positions worldwide in its Plant Science division, which has its headquarters in the park.”
A mass layoff notice filed with the state of North Carolina on Thursday said the company’s cuts had the “potential to impact” 190 jobs in RTP.
The first cuts will take place on June 30 (9) followed by 14 more on July 31 and “additional reductions” will take place until a total of 155 is reached.
Of those to be laid off, nearly half are scientists.
Since the layoffs are staggered, the company said the layoff total might not reach 190.
The company, which is based in Germany, said in February that it was cutting 350 of the 700 jobs in the group. Of those, some 350 are in RTP.
In 2013, BASF said it would invest $33 million in expanding its RTP operations and relocated jobs to the Park operation.
The cuts are expected to be finished by the end of the year.
The company spends some $165 million a year on plant research, according to Reuters.
Read more:
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/basf-to-restructure-plant-science-operations-cut-350-jobs–quick-facts-20160225-00746#ixzz41CGpgPaC
