Pharmaceutical giant Bayer is getting rid of bosses and asking nearly 100,000 workers to ‘self-organize’ to save $2.15 billion

3 comments

1. “In a bid to claw back $2.15 billion, the struggling pharmaceutical giant Bayer CEO is doing away with middle managers and 99% of the company’s 1,362-page corporate handbook, allowing nearly 100,000 employees to self-manage.

   Bayer, the 160-year-old German company known for inventing aspirin, has been stuck in a rut: Its market cap has plunged to two-decade lows—spurred by its so-far disastrous acquisition of Monsanto—and its CEO Bill Anderson believes that flattening hierarchy and slashing corporate bureaucracy could be key to turning it around.

   In the coming years, Bayer’s workforce will consist of constantly evolving “5,000 to 6,000 self-directed teams” that work together on
   projects of their choosing for 90 days, before regrouping for their next project.

   The company has accumulated around €34.5 billion ($37.5 billion) in debt, not much less than the company’s €47.6 billion ($51.7 billion) in sales last year.

   Although Anderson is pitching the move as an innovative way of transforming its corporate hierarchy and giving employees more choice, trimming middle management to save costs and become more efficient is nothing new.

   In fact, middle managers—defined as nonexecutives who oversee employees—made up almost a third of layoffs last year.”

2. Fuck yeah I wish my job would get rid of my managers

3. Remember those bosses we paid insane amounts and claimed work 1000 times harder than you? Turns out they aren’t necessary. You do it. Also, no pay raise.

   Fuck you, bayer. Fuck you.