Severance Pay at BASF 2026 – Job Cuts, Termination Agreement & Your Rights

Job cuts at BASF: what is happening right now?

BASF has cut around 7,000 jobs worldwide between the start of 2024 and the end of June 2026, roughly two-thirds of them in Germany, with a focus on the main plant in Ludwigshafen. In the first half of 2026 alone, more jobs were cut than in the previous two years combined; the number of full-time positions in Ludwigshafen fell below 30,000 in May 2026 for the first time since 1954 (Handelsblatt, 29.07.2026). The cuts are being carried out through voluntary instruments, such as partial retirement, early retirement and termination agreements, rather than forced dismissals.

Your rights: social plan, termination agreement, protection against dismissal

With an operational change of this scale, the employer must negotiate a social plan (Sozialplan) with the works council (Betriebsrat) (§§ 111, 112 BetrVG). It sets out how to compensate for economic disadvantages, for example severance pay, partial retirement and transfer arrangements. If an operational change (Betriebsänderung) is carried out without an attempt to reach a reconciliation of interests (Interessenausgleich) with the works council, compensation for disadvantage (Nachteilsausgleich) may be considered (§ 113 BetrVG). A social plan only sets a framework, though: an individually offered termination agreement can fall below or above it and is negotiable.

If it later does come to a dismissal for operational reasons, the strict three-week deadline applies: an unfair dismissal claim (Kündigungsschutzklage) must reach the labour court within three weeks of receiving the notice (§ 4 KSchG), after which the dismissal is deemed effective, however questionable it was. At a large employer like BASF, this very claim is often the lever that gets a severance payment negotiated in the first place.

Protection against dismissal in Ludwigshafen until 2028: what this means for you

In December 2025, BASF and the employee representatives signed a new site agreement, "Shaping the future for a strong site." It applies from 2026 to the end of 2028, rules out dismissals for operational reasons at the Ludwigshafen site for its duration, and automatically extends by a further two years to the end of 2030 if the profitability targets are met (BASF press release).

For those affected, that means you are not under pressure to be dismissed, and you do not have to accept a settlement offer. Because BASF still has to achieve the cuts, the company pays for voluntary departures. That is your negotiating position. An offer that looks "generous" is therefore not automatically the maximum you could get, it is worth having it checked.

Received a BASF offer? Check it before you sign

What needs to be checked: the amount relative to your age, length of service and prospects in a claim, the risk of a benefit suspension period for unemployment benefit (§§ 158, 159 SGB III), the waiver and settlement clauses (bonuses, variable pay, company pension), and tax, since with larger packages the timing of payment affects the one-fifth rule. Upload your document, we will flag the critical points, at no upfront cost.

How it works with us

An initial consultation at no upfront cost, an assessment of your offer by our specialised partner law firm, and, if you instruct us, negotiation funded through litigation funding, with no upfront cost risk to you. Here is how the cost model works.

Note: Team Abfindung is an independent provider and has no connection to BASF SE.