Bayer reduces management board amid ongoing company shake-up

Bayer’s quest to reduce its workforce has traveled all the way up into the company’s highest ranks.

This week, Bayer announced that two members of its management board — Hartmut Klusik and Kemal Malik — are leaving by the end of this year. The company has no plans to replace either exec — Malik oversees innovation in Asia Pacific and Klusik is labor director. Instead, some their responsibilities will be absorbed by others at the company.

Bayer said the management board shake-up is in line with its overall plan to streamline its operations and increase efficiency. Last year, the company announced that it plans to nix about 12,000 jobs globally.

The pressure is on Bayer to reduce the debt the company has incurred since its $63 billion takeover of Monsanto, which is staring down a mountain of lawsuits related to its popular weed killer, glyphosate. Analysts predict that a massive litigation settlement for claims that glyphosate is linked to cancer could cost Monsanto upwards of $10 billion.

Read the full Reuters report.