Bayer Considers Company Split, Plans Management Cuts After Weak Q3 Results Amid Monsanto Roundup Lawsuits

CEO Bill Anderson dismisses idea of a three-way split, aiming to streamline operations by cutting back decision-making layers, while evaluating split of Consumer Health or Crop Science divisions amid sharp decline in Bayer's sales and profits.

• CEO of German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, Bill Anderson, is considering splitting the company by separating its consumer-health or crop-science sectors after a weak Q3 performance caused by lower herbicide pricing and increased production costs.
• The idea of a three-way split was dismissed by Anderson, as he is focused on redesigning Bayer to concentrate solely on its core mission and eliminate nonessential aspects.
• Bayer's Q3 sales fell 8.3% with the crop science business recording a 7% contraction in sales and the pharmaceuticals division experiencing an 8.4% drop.
• Bayer, which has been grappling with debt and legal issues linked to its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, suffered a net loss of €4.5 billion ($4.9 billion) in Q3, compared to a net income of €546 million ($585 million) in the same quarter last year.
• By the end of 2024, Bayer plans to shed multiple layers of management, with 95% of decision-making shifting from managers to operational staff, as part of a strategy to streamline operations.

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