Evonik is stepping up its transformation drive, targeting growth in key markets while cutting costs and reshaping its global operations over the next three years.

 

The German specialty chemicals group plans to eliminate 3,200 jobs worldwide, including around 2,150 in Germany, under its Evonik Tailor Made restructuring program. The savings are intended to create financial room for targeted investments in growth markets and strengthen the company’s position through 2030.

 

The plans were discussed in detail by Evonik’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board at their annual strategy meeting.

 

"The Executive Board, Supervisory Board and employee representatives share one conviction: We are in a structural and economic crisis in our industry," says interim CEO Claus Rettig. 

 

"We will use this polycrisis to change old structures and position ourselves better. Even in this crisis, many parts of our business are growing. We will therefore concentrate growth on our strengths, on the right future topics and on the most lucrative markets. At the same time, we will create leeway through better cost positions."

 

At the heart of the strategy is a sharper division of roles across Evonik’s business portfolio. Individual businesses will be managed either as growth drivers or cash generators, while the company exits activities where it sees limited prospects.

 

Evonik is also directing fresh investment toward healthcare and biotechnology. Projects already launched in Canada and Slovakia have a combined value in the three-digit million-euro range.

 

A new business line, Designed Polymer Solutions, is also being established. It will bring together growth businesses serving the aerospace, automotive and gas-separation markets, including biogas and hydrogen.

 

Evonik sees particular growth opportunities in Asia and the Americas, with additional investments in both regions under consideration. The company also intends to use its existing European production network, including its German sites, to serve these markets more aggressively.

 

The long-term objective is a more balanced distribution of revenue across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

 

Germany’s six major production sites will also receive clearly defined roles to guide their future development. Implementation is set to begin within days.

 

"Only as leaders in what we do will we be able to establish ourselves at the forefront of our industry in the long term," says Rettig. "The future will remain volatile, which means we must be able to react in a flexible manner to short-term changes in order to be a reliable partner for our customers in all regions of the world. Our positioning and innovative strength in many key technologies in specialty chemicals mean we have a better foundation for this than our competition."

 

The restructuring will also mean further withdrawals from smaller operations. Evonik says previously announced site closures are part of the broader transformation, while the planned divestments of its major C4 chemicals business, Oxeno GmbH, and infrastructure business, Syneqt GmbH, are progressing as planned.

 

Evonik Tailor Made will enter its second implementation phase in 2027, running through 2029 and following directly on from the first phase, which covers 2024 to 2026.

 

The detailed restructuring measures are due to be finalized by the end of 2026. They will include leaving vacant positions unfilled, early retirement and voluntary departures in return for severance payments.

 

"Evonik was and is known as a company that lives social responsibility and maintains an intensive dialogue with employee representatives," says Chief Human Resources Officer Thomas Wessel.