Ludwigshafen,
Germany - Chemical giant BASF announced Wednesday that it was slashing
production worldwide because of a dramatic fall in demand.
The company said it was temporarily shutting down around 80 plants across the globe and reducing production in 100.
Some
20,000 employees would be affected, BASF said in a statement. Flexible
working time arrangements will be used wherever possible, it said.
"We
already drew attention to the difficult economic situation at the end
of October. Since then, customer demand in key markets has declined
significantly," board chairman Juergen Hambrecht said.