Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Plans To Invest €1B At The Darmstadt Site Until 2025

Comprehensive agreement to secure the future viability of global headquarters signed with the Works Council

Employment guarantee extended until the end of 2025

New Vocational and Advanced Training Center planned

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, recently announced that the company management and the Joint Works Council have signed a comprehensive agreement applicable to the Darmstadt site. The aim is to secure the future viability of company headquarters as a central science and technology hub and to further expand it. For this purpose, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will invest a total of € 1B until 2025.

“We believe in the tremendous potential of the Darmstadt site. There is no other Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, site in the world that has so much expertise combined at one location. With our investment commitment, we are permitting additional growth and are creating employment perspectives for tomorrow and beyond,” said Kai Beckmann, CEO Performance Materials and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Executive Board member responsible for the Darmstadt site. Back in 2015, the company had stated that it would invest a total of €1B at its global headquarters in the following five-year period. “Our aim is to do the right things today in order to ensure that we remain successful as a company tomorrow. Together with the employee representatives, we want to support the changes in our three business sectors here at the Darmstadt site in the best possible way,” Beckmann added.

The company management and employee representatives have likewise agreed to extend the employment guarantee until the end of 2025. “We conducted intensive negotiations and in some cases had strong debates. Ultimately, with the site agreement we achieved a good outcome that benefits employees and sustainably strengthens the future viability of the site,” said Michael Fletterich, Chairman of the Works Council of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is currently holding talks about the possible construction of a new membrane plant in Darmstadt. Membranes are used, among other things, in various types of filters, for instance in biopharmaceutical production. Moreover, the company plans to construct a new Vocational and Advanced Training Center at the site. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, currently has more than 500 apprentices in 22 vocational training occupations.

The agreement on the future of the Darmstadt site is applicable until the end of 2025 for the roughly 11,000 employees in Darmstadt, Weiterstadt and Gernsheim. It also encompasses the commitments on qualification and advanced training, for instance a new internal job placement office. Moreover, the company management and employee representatives have agreed a voluntary leaver program and a bridge model for an early transition to retirement.

About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 52,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2018, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 14.8B in 66 countries.

The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark “Merck” internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Performance Materials. Since its founding 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company’s technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company.