Chemical giant BASF SE has announced it will launch an "organizational realignment" through 2021 which will see it cut up to 6,000 jobs.
The work will include streamlining administration operations, together with a "sharpening" of service roles. There will further be a simplifying of procedures and processes.
The company expects annual savings of €300 million ($338.6 million) upon completion of the project, which will result in a €2 billion ($2.26 billion) increase of anticipated earnings from the end of 2021.
As a result of the change in strategy direction, BASF noted in a statement that will lose about 6,000 jobs. These will largely come from the administrative division.
"We will set up the new organization with a clear focus on leveraging synergies, reducing interfaces and enabling flexibility and creativity," said Martin Brudermüller, chairman of the board of executive directors at BASF, based in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
"We want our customers to experience a new BASF. To achieve this, we have to live a new BASF. We will therefore continue to develop our organization to work more effectively and efficiently," he added.
As part of the changes, about 29,000 employees around the world will be tasked with working in cross-functional service units, billed as global engineering services, global digital services and global procurement.
Global business services will include finance, HR, communications and supply chain. Marc Ehrhardt, current head of finance, will lead the group.
In addition, BASF will work to implement a more streamlined corporate center. This will have few than 1,000 employees supporting the executive board and steering the company.