Employees and Pension Obligations

As of September 30, 2018, the Covestro Group had 16,648 employees worldwide (December 31, 2017: 16,176). Personnel expenses rose by €29 million to €1,465 million in the first nine months of 2018 (previous year: €1,436 million).

Employees by Corporate Function1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec. 31, 2017

 

Sep. 30, 2018

1 The number of employees on either permanent or temporary contracts is stated in full-time equivalents (FTE). Part-time employees are included on a pro-rated basis in line with their contractual working hours. Employees in vocational training are not included.

Production

 

10,115

 

10,247

Marketing and distribution

 

3,476

 

3,594

Research and development

 

1,072

 

1,122

General administration

 

1,513

 

1,685

Total

 

16,176

 

16,648

Provisions for pensions and other post-employment benefits increased to €1,264 million as of September 30, 2018 (December 31, 2017: €1,187 million), mainly due to the adverse change in plan assets. In part, this development was balanced out by actuarial gains following an increase in the discount rate for pension obligations in the United States.

Discount Rate for Pension Obligations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec. 31, 2017

 

Sep. 30, 2018

 

 

%

 

%

Germany

 

1.90

 

1.90

United States

 

3.40

 

4.00