GÖTTINGEN (dpa-AFX) - The Goettingen-based laboratory supplier Sartorius wants to reduce its workforce at its headquarters. Among other things, this will involve a volunteer program, the DAX-listed company announced Tuesday. A hiring freeze has also been imposed. Accordingly, there are to be no compulsory redundancies.

As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic fade, demand is also declining slightly, it said. "In this respect, our business has been normalizing for several quarters, which is what we expected and communicated regularly," said a spokesman.

Previously, the "Göttinger Tageblatt", among others, had reported on the planned job cuts. According to this report, 200 jobs could be affected. Sartorius did not provide any figures when asked.

According to the company, temporary sabbaticals, hour reductions and partial retirement are being considered for the job cuts. The various options are to be implemented in the coming weeks.

The laboratory supplier has grown strongly since 2019. "Around 1700 additional jobs have been created in Göttingen by the end of 2022," the spokesman said. Part of this was explicitly to cope with order peaks during the pandemic. By the end of 2022, Sartorius reportedly had 4800 employees in Goettingen, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to 2019./xma/DP/tav