Wacker Chemie reports record loss of 800 million euros

The chemical company Wacker has slipped deep into the red with a record loss of 800 million euros in 2025. In addition to poor business, this was due to very high impairments and the costs of the cost-cutting program with which the Group is responding to the crisis. In contrast, sales fell by a comparatively moderate four percent to just under 5.5 billion euros, as the Munich-based company announced.

German chemical industry in deep crisis

Wacker is, among other things, a leading international producer of polysilicon for the chip industry; its largest site is the main plant in Burghausen, Upper Bavaria, with around 8,000 employees. Wacker also has a large plant in Nünchritz, Saxony, with around 1,500 employees.

In 2024, the Group generated a net profit of just under 261 million euros. The chemical industry in Germany is in crisis virtually across the board, due both to falling demand on the global markets and the competitive disadvantage of high German energy prices. According to the company, Wacker consumes just under one percent of all electricity in Germany.

Costly write-downs

According to the preliminary figures, 600 of the 800 million euro loss was due to write-downs. The value of the investment in wafer manufacturer Siltronic alone fell by more than 300 million euros. The cost-cutting program initially resulted in a provision of 100 million euros. However, as the preliminary figures show, Wacker would have posted a loss even without these write-downs.

In the end, the cost-cutting program is expected to reduce annual costs by EUR 300 million, half of which will be achieved through staff reductions. Group management plans to cut 1,500 jobs, the majority of them in Germany. Wacker also has a large plant in Nünchritz, Saxony, with around 1,500 employees.

CEO Hartel: Need lower energy prices

"By 2025, the chemical industry will be under massive pressure, especially in Germany and Europe," said CEO Christian Hartel. We need to respond to this. The first measures of the cost-cutting program are now being implemented. The manager appealed to politicians to lower energy prices and reduce bureaucracy.