Evonik to cut 3,200 jobs by 2029 in extended restructuring push

By Anastasiia Kozlova

June 18 (Reuters) - Evonik Industries said on Thursday it would cut 3,200 jobs worldwide between 2027 and 2029, most of them in the chemicals group's home market of Germany, in an extension to its cost-cutting drive that was set to end this year.

Evonik, which will have slashed some 2,800 jobs under the programme by the end of 2026, said the new cuts would include 2,150 positions in Germany, as margins remain under pressure from growing competition and a weak economy.

The company's shares fell 3% by 0919 GMT.

"The global political situation remains uncertain, and economic growth is persistently weak," CEO Christian Kullmann said in a statement.

Evonik also plans to discontinue its global polyester business in 2027, which will affect about 350 positions at its German sites in Witten and Marl and the Chinese one in Shanghai.

"Global competitive pressure, structural disadvantages in Europe, and declining market dynamics mean that none of the alternatives examined would have been economically viable for Evonik in the long term," executive board member Lauren Kjeldsen, who is responsible for the unit, said in the statement.

Germany's Ifo Institute for Economic Research has repeatedly warned that high energy costs, supply chain issues and an overall struggling economy would push chemical makers to scale back production and implement further job cuts.

(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova, Editing by Linda Pasquini and Milla Nissi-Prussak)