Bayer's job cull nears 12,000, with more to come

The reduction in Bayer's workforce under turnaround chief executive Bill Anderson has reached around 12,000 – a fall of around 12% since the start of 2024 – and isn't yet completed.

On the German group's second-quarter results call today, Anderson said additional job losses would take place in the next 18 months or so from the current headcount of around 89,600, but did not put a figure on the target.

2025 is considered a critical year for Bayer as Anderson works through the turnaround plan, which revolves mainly around the removal of management layers to cut costs and envisages a return to reliable growth for the group in 2026.

Bayer hiked its full-year sales and earnings guidance in its financial update, although its shares lost nearly 5% of their value on investor concerns that pharma sales performance – up 0.6% to €4.47 billion ($5.2 billion) in the second quarter – stemmed as much from a lower-than-expected decline in sales of off-patent anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) as from growth in newer products.

The selloff likely also stemmed from the revelation that Bayer is setting aside €6.3 billion to cover liabilities in litigation relating to glyphosate-based herbicides, which stem from its takeover of Monsanto.

Another factor, meanwhile, could be the realisation among investors that part of the better-than-expected financial performance came from a cash injection related to player transfers from its football club Bayer Leverkusen, including the sale of midfielder Florian Wirtz to Liverpool in a record-breaking €134 million deal.

Anderson said the raised forecasts take into consideration "geopolitical crosswinds" – tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported from the EU into the US, for example – as well as currency fluctuations.

In the pharma division, there were bright spots for new launches, including prostate cancer therapy Nubeqa (darolutamide) and Kerendia (finerenone) for chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetics, which grew 50.5% to €546 million and 67.1% to €183 million, respectively, in the second quarter.

Anderson pointed to launches in pharma, including heart drug Beyonttra (acoramidis) and Lynkuet (elinzanetant), its hormone-free treatment for symptoms associated with menopause, as important milestones in the latter half of the year.

However, the company expects earnings to be affected by launch costs as well as "higher investments in early-stage research and…cell and gene therapy and chemoproteomics technologies."