Evonik is set to close two smaller production sites in Germany by 2027, affecting around 90 employees as the chemicals giant moves to consolidate operations and cut costs amid weak demand and mounting competitive pressure.
The company plans to shut its Hamburg site, where around 50 employees supply products to the cosmetics and personal care industry, by the middle of next year. Its Bitterfeld site, employing around 40 people and producing chlorosilanes, is scheduled to close at the end of April 2027.
Evonik said the businesses themselves will continue, with production and expertise concentrated at larger German locations. The company and employee representatives will negotiate measures aimed at finding socially acceptable solutions for affected workers.
"We have strong businesses that successfully meet our customers' needs for high-quality products," says Claus Rettig, interim Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik.
"At the same time, our structures when it comes to production, administration, and laboratories are too fragmented in some areas. This leads to unnecessarily high costs and weakens our competitiveness. That's why we also need to bundle our locations and concentrate our structures in a targeted manner in order to work more efficiently, drive innovations forward more quickly, and thus strengthen our competitiveness."
Evonik will consolidate the Hamburg site's cosmetics and personal care activities at its larger Essen-Goldschmidtstrasse location, preserving the business while combining it with existing technological expertise.
Essen is already a major site for Evonik's Care Solutions business line, which includes the Hamburg operations. The business is facing the same headwinds affecting the wider chemicals industry, including weak global demand and continued pressure on profit margins.
"We are aware that this decision represents a drastic change for the employees at the Hamburg site," says Maximilian Morin, who is responsible for the Care Solutions business line. "The decision was made after intensive evaluations of various options and represents the best solution for the successful development of the business."
The planned Bitterfeld shutdown comes after sustained pressure on the market for high-purity silicon tetrachloride. Evonik cited growing supplies from Asia, intense competition and prolonged low plant utilization that has made economically viable operations increasingly difficult.
The company said it assessed several alternatives, including different operating models, capacity reductions, mothballing the facility and potential sale of the site. None was deemed capable of providing a sustainable long-term economic outlook.
"This decision was not easy for us. We are aware of the importance of the site for our employees and for the region. At the same time, we have the responsibility to ensure the long-term competitiveness of our business," says Emmanuel Auer, head of the Smart Effects business line, which the chlorosilane business is part of.
Evonik said customers will primarily be supplied from its Rheinfelden site in southern Germany following the Bitterfeld closure.
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