FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Chemicals and oil company BASF say it is cutting 500 jobs by the end of 2015 at its specialized chemicals business.
The company says the division is facing a changed business environment in some of its market segments, with new competitors and standardization requirements.
Most of the job cuts, around 350, will come in the Basel, Switzerland area where BASF has a research center.
It said Tuesday it would carry out the reductions in a responsible manner and attempt to find opportunities elsewhere in the group for as many displaced employees as possible.
The affected businesses make plastic additives, pigments, and chemicals for use in leather and textile products.
BASF SE, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, has about 111,000 workers worldwide.
