The chemical company BASF is discontinuing further parts of its production of the weedkiller glufosinate by the end of this year.

The sites affected are the Knapsack Chemical Park in Hürth and the Höchst Industrial Park in Frankfurt, as the company announced on Wednesday. The total of around 300 jobs will initially be retained until the end of 2025 and then gradually reduced. BASF justified the move with the growing competition from generic suppliers and alternative technologies, as well as high energy and raw material costs. Glufosinate will nevertheless remain a "key component" of BASF's herbicide portfolio. However, the company is working on the development of next-generation glufosinate solutions, which should achieve the same effect with significantly lower quantities.

Glufosinate is a broad-spectrum herbicide; BASF does not provide information on sales of the active ingredient. Last year, the Ludwigshafen-based company generated total sales of 3.38 billion euros with herbicides, accounting for just under five percent of its consolidated sales. Four years ago, BASF announced the closure of its Muskegon site in the US state of Michigan and the closure of one of three glufosinate production plants in Knapsack by 2022.

(Report by Patricia Weiß, edited by Birgit Mittwollen. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)