OREANDA-NEWS. Company and employee representatives at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen signed a new site agreement today. The agreement, titled "Meeting the challenges of constant change together," applies to the approximately 36,000 employees of BASF SE at the site. It will run for five years (from January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2020) and follows on from the existing site agreement, which expires at the end of 2015.

The company will continue to forgo forced redundancies for the duration of the agreement. Furthermore, BASF SE has committed itself to spend a total of at least €6 billion on investments, upgrading and maintenance measures between 2016 and 2020 at the Ludwigshafen site.

"Economic and social changes are occurring ever faster and are becoming less and less predictable. With the new site agreement, we are creating a framework that offers both flexibility and reliability and will enable the Ludwigshafen site to remain competitive - now and in the future. We rely on our team of dedicated and skilled employees and we will continue to substantially invest in the largest, integrated Verbund site of BASF Group in the coming years," said Margret Suckale, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. Company and employee representatives are committed to the central role of the Ludwigshafen Verbund site with production, research and technology, marketing, infrastructure and services as well as competence centers.

"Job security is highly valued and a decisive factor in motivating employees to actively support the constant change. With the new site agreement, we have been able to extend job security for employees. The company's stated intent to continue vocational training on a comparable level as in the past and to foster the employability of its staff will also contribute to making the site fit for the future," said Robert Oswald, head of the Works Council of BASF SE.