Symrise Lengthens Agreement With German Union

Symrise announced it is further developing its agreements with the IG BCE (Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union) to strengthen its German production sites and secure qualified personnel for the future. To ensure this, Symrise is extending its employment guarantee for its German sites from the previous date of 2016 to the end of 2020. In return, the staff will do without some salary increases in the future, and the 40-hour week has also been fixed until 2020.

The agreement also provides for some major additional investment in the German sites for their expansion and modernization. This development will see Symrise investing an additional €100 million in Germany until 2020, which is in addition to a €120 million investment the company currently has set to go to 2016.

Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise AG, stated, “This extended agreement represents a long-term commitment to our German sites and sends out a strong signal to our employees. It includes far-reaching measures designed to strengthen our international competitive position. A sturdy foundation for our company and our employees is crucial to the lasting continuation of our profitable course of growth.”

Furthermore, the company is also addressing demographic changes by creating additional apprenticeships, as well as staff enhancement and training measures. The new collective agreement includes new staff training programs and measures designed to facilitate the company's internal generational change. Symrise is committing itself to offering approximately 50 vocational training positions at its German sites to young people every year.

“Demographic change will be one of the prime challenges faced by German businesses in the years to come. Symrise is a market leader in a dynamic and global industry and is therefore highly attractive to the next generation of junior staff. We are highlighting this by expanding our training programs, with which we intend to secure access to bright up-and-coming employees for many years to come,” said Symrise head of human resources Iñigo Natzel.

“The extended site agreement offers security to Symrise's employees in Germany. Symrise guarantees that it will maintain stable occupational levels at the German sites until 2020 and that it will not announce any redundancies made for operational reasons,” said Karl-Heinz Huchthausen, chairman of the general works council of Symrise AG.

“The agreement is a combination of the tried-and-tested with important new additions to site expansion and staff training. It reflects the confidence that Symrise has in its business model and in Germany as a business location,” added Peter Winkelmann of the IG BCE.

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