(ICIS) -- Bayer plans to reduce its workforce by 2,000 by 2012 as part of an ┬800m/year ($1.1bn/year) cost-cutting programme, the chief executive of the German pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals producer said on Thursday.
The programme aims to shift the company's focus toward researching, developing and marketing new products in its pharmaceuticals and pesticides businesses, as well as expanding activities in emerging markets, Bayer said.
Bayer said about 4,500 positions - including 1,700 in Germany - would be cut, while 2,500 new jobs would be added, mostly in emerging markets. The company did not specify from which units that jobs would be cut.
The ┬800m/year in savings would be realised beginning in 2013.