German chemical giant BASF says to slash 6,000 jobs

Massive German chemical company BASF said Thursday it would slash 6,000 jobs worldwide by 2021, as the company slims down its organisation in pursuit of fatter margins.

"BASF expects a reduction of a total of around 6,000 positions worldwide until the end of 2021" out of 122,000 employees, the company said in a statement, part of an "excellence programme" aimed at boosting profits by 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) annually.