Bayer Pharmaceuticals is investing $1.53 billion into the expansion of manufacturing operations at its Bergkamen, Berlin, Leverkusen, Weimar and Wuppertal sites in Germany, the company announced.
The investment will help establish the hubs as centers for innovative research and enable more intensive collaborations with startups and universities. It will also include new R&D hires in Germany, Bayer said, and those are on track to happen by 2025.
“We want to strengthen Bayer’s global competitiveness and innovative strength from Germany and support the group in achieving its growth targets,” said Oliver Zühlke, chairman of the Bayer General Works Council in a translated statement.
The announcement also outlined that by 2026, Bayer is looking to boost digitization at operation sites in Dormagen, Frankfurt and Knapsack with a $316 million investment.
Bayer has been investing in manufacturing expansion for a few years. In 2021, Bayer spent $300 million to build a contraceptives manufacturing plant in Finland and another $160 million on one in Costa Rica.
In 2020, the company announced that over the next 30 years, it planned to add 1 million square feet of work space to its Berkley, Calif. site, as well as double the1,000-employee workforce.