When Bayer CEO Bill Anderson launched his Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO) layoff plan—designed to save 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in 2026—he said it would be completed by the “end of 2025 at the latest.”
Two years into his tenure, Bayer has reduced its head count by more than 12,000, with little slowdown in the pace of dismissals. Last year at this time, the company reported that it had cut its roster by 5.4% over the previous 12 months. Wednesday, in reporting its second-quarter results, Bayer revealed that it has slashed its workforce by 7.3% over the last 12 months.
The job cuts, however, provided only a 2.4% year-over-year decrease in personnel expenses—from 3.05 billion euros ($3.55 billion) to 2.98 billion euros ($3.46 billion) in the second quarter.
“Savings generated by the headcount reduction were partially offset by two primary factors: higher expenses for group-wide incentive programs as well as expenses relating to our restructuring programs, which remained at an elevated level,” Bayer wrote in its second-quarter half-year financial report.
At the end of the second quarter in 2023, which was one month into Anderson’s tenure, Bayer reported that it had 102,048 employees. Two years later, at the end of June, the head count stood at 89,556.
The DSO reorganization plan has slashed the levels of bureaucracy at Bayer. In March 2024, for example, Anderson dismantled the leadership team of Bayer’s pharma sector, reducing it from 14 to eight executives. Three members of the executive team were let go, while the three others were demoted.
So far, the company is happy with the progress. Three weeks ago, its supervisory board rewarded Anderson with a three-year contract extension through March 2029.
“Our business is competitive in each area. We're overhauling bureaucracy, we're ramping up our efforts on litigation, we're stepping up cash generation, we're advancing the pharma pipeline,” Anderson said in a conference call Wednesday. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I like our momentum.”
Some of the progress is reflected in Bayer’s second-quarter financial report. Last week, the company increased its 2025 revenue guidance from a range of 45 billion euros to 47 billion euros ($52.3 billion to $54.6 billion) to a new window of 46 to 48 billion euros ($53.5 to $55.8 billion).
Bayer credited the adjustment to the success of its pharma sector, significantly increasing its sales estimate from a range of 0% to 3% growth versus a previous projection of a decline between 1% and 4%.
Some of the increase has to do with booming sales of kidney disease and diabetes drug Kerendia, which were up 67% year over year. An FDA expansion last month to treat two types of heart failure will provide a further boost. Also up was prostate cancer treatment Nubeqa, which increased sales by 51%.
Bayer also credited part of the increased 2025 pharma sales projection to better-than-expected revenue from blood thinner Xarelto, which is facing generic competition. The company added that the erosion will now be more acute in 2026.