Lanxess Job Cuts 2026: Severance Pay

Lanxess job cuts 2026: the status in October

In short: the current target is around 550 roles, about two-thirds of them in Germany, mainly in administration. Since the announcement on 19 March 2026, Lanxess hasn’t published a new figure or a site-by-site breakdown. The cuts are meant to happen “as socially responsible as possible, through natural staff turnover and demographic effects” (chemie.de, 20 March 2026).

• No guarantee against dismissals: a statement of intent on social responsibility isn’t an agreed exclusion of dismissals for operational reasons. Lanxess hasn’t publicly communicated any such exclusion.
• Working hours and pay: the 35-hour week for union-covered staff was agreed “initially until the end of the year”; no extension beyond 31 December 2026 has been made public. Management and non-tariff staff face a pay freeze on fixed salaries.
• Cost pressure: around €100 million in additional annual savings by the end of 2028, roughly €150 million together with the network optimisation. In March, Lanxess expected a recovery “at the earliest in the second half” of 2026.
• What you can do now: don’t accept an offer unchecked, calculate the factor against your own profile (reference value using the rule of thumb), and if you’re dismissed, keep the three-week deadline under section 4 KSchG in mind.

Job cuts at Lanxess: what’s happening right now?

The specialty chemicals group Lanxess announced a stricter savings programme on 19 March 2026, alongside its 2025 annual results: cutting around 550 roles, about two-thirds of them in Germany (finanzen.net, 19 March 2026; KunststoffWeb). The programme is meant to deliver an additional roughly €100 million in annual savings by 2028; combined with the previously announced optimisation of the production network (around €50 million), the target adds up to about €150 million by the end of 2028. The backdrop is a persistently weak chemicals market and growing competition from Asia; revenue fell by 10.9% in 2025. Importantly, this is an announced target, not dismissals already carried out (status: October 2026).

Affected areas & locations

• According to the company, administrative roles are mainly affected; the group’s CEO is Matthias Zachert, and its headquarters is in Cologne (onvista, 19 March 2026).
• No individual plant closures or site-specific targets were made public with the announcement; the breakdown will become clearer during negotiations with employee representatives.
• For short-term relief, a temporary 35-hour week has applied to union-covered staff since February 2026 (initially until the end of the year).

Your rights during the cuts: where things stand

Lanxess hasn’t ruled out dismissals for operational reasons. If you’re dismissed, one deadline matters above all: you have only three weeks from receipt to file an unfair dismissal claim (§ 4 KSchG), after which the dismissal becomes legally effective. Since the cuts likely amount to a change to business operations (Betriebsänderung), the works council and the company are called upon to agree an interest reconciliation agreement and social plan (sections 111, 112 BetrVG); the social plan can, if necessary, be enforced through the conciliation committee under section 112(4) BetrVG. Separately, compensation for disadvantages under section 113 BetrVG may apply if the employer acts without attempting an interest reconciliation agreement. There’s no automatic statutory right to severance pay, however; the rule of thumb (0.5 monthly salaries per year) is only a reference value.

Received an offer or termination agreement? Get it checked first

Things worth checking: the amount against the social plan formula and your profile, the risk of a benefit suspension period (Sperrzeit) on unemployment benefit (a termination agreement can trigger a benefit suspension period under section 159 SGB III, distinct from the suspension of your claim under section 158 SGB III if the notice period isn’t observed), waiver and settlement clauses, and tax: since 1 January 2025, the one-fifth rule (section 34 EStG) is only granted as part of your income tax assessment, no longer automatically via payroll tax deduction, and it requires your income to be bunched into one payment. Upload your document and the critical points will be flagged within seconds, at no cost.

If you’ve been with the company for around fifteen years, you can read up on what severance pay after 15 years means.

How we work

A free initial consultation, assessment of your offer by our specialised partner law firm, and if you instruct us, negotiation via litigation funding, so you take on no upfront financial risk. This is how the cost model works.

Note: Team Abfindung is an independent provider and has no connection to LANXESS AG. Only publicly reported information about the job cuts is referenced here.