BASF is cutting back at its main site in Germany
Subtitle:
The company says high energy prices are forcing it to shut plants at its Ludwigshafen complex
Some text from the article:
High energy prices have already struck a blow to European competitiveness in chemical manufacturing. They are now prompting BASF to lay off thousands of workers and shut down sections of its flagship facility in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The company, the world’s largest chemical maker, revealed the closures when it announced 2022 financial results on Feb. 24. Sales increased 11%, to $92.5 billion, but this was because of higher selling prices. The company’s sales volumes declined by 7% last year.
BASF posted a loss of about $660 million for the year, mostly owing to charges of $6.7 billion related to its decision to withdraw its Wintershall Dea oil and gas affiliate completely from Russia. Without those charges, the firm’s profits would have been roughly flat compared to 2021.
The war in Ukraine has sharply reduced natural gas supplies in Europe and boosted BASF’s energy bill on the continent by $2.9 billion in 2022. In Germany, overall chemical industry production decreased by 12% last year.
“The past year has taught us all a harsh lesson: peace and economic stability must never be taken for granted,” BASF chairman Martin Brudermüller said in remarks to stock analysts.
Along with its earnings announcement, BASF detailed a round of cost cutting, outlined last October, aimed at saving more than $500 million annually. As part of the program, BASF says it will shed about 2,600 positions, 2.3% of its global total. The program, which BASF will execute this year and next, will focus on nonmanufacturing operations such as services, administration, and R&D.
Here's another article on the topic from a few months back from a more mainstream publication:
BASF to cut 2,600 jobs as energy crisis puts Germany on track for recession
By shutting down its Haber Bosch plants - BASF was founded on coal reformation to make hydrogen for ammonia manufacture - cut off a major supply of ammonia for Africa for fertilizers.
Germany routinely has the 2nd dirtiest electricity in Europe as measured in grams CO
2/kWh, because it is heavily dependent on coal when it's expensive solar and wind junk is experiencing
Dunkelflaute according to the data which can be regularly checked at
The Electricity Map
I check it regularly, with a sense of disgust, because "green" in Germany is the color of soot and coal ash. I despise fossil fuel dependent economies, of which Germany is one of the worst. (Poland is usually use, but Poland is on a path of
moving in the opposite direction of Germany; it plans to build oodles of nuclear plants.)
Of course, fossil fuel sales people and their "I agree with you" sales bots are in the business of promoting the use of dangerous fossil fuels by greenwashing them as "hydrogen." This is a very successful and slick marketing technique, of course, because many people believe the nonsense statement that hydrogen is "green," even though it is overwhelmingly made by the very dirty steam reforming of dangerous fossil fuels.
A Giant Climate Lie: When they're selling hydrogen, what they're really selling is fossil fuels.
Whether it's whining about tritium at Fukushima, or destroying exergy to rebrand fossil fuels as "hydrogen" fossil fuel interests are very slick in promoting the coal, gas, and oil industries, as slick as cigarette companies were in the 1950's were in promoting their brands by advertising that doctors smoked their brands.
It offends decency of course, but let's not accuse the fossil fuel interests of having a sense of decency. At long last, they have none.
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