The chemical group will be cutting back its production of polystyrene in Europe by 25 percent from 1 October.

The reason for this step - the company said - is the diminished demand for the standard plastic polystyrene, a development that can be ascribed to the current economic downturn.

“The market for polystyrene has shrunk in almost all customer sectors this year", explains Jaroslaw Michniuk, head of BASF’s business unit Styrenics Europe in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

The production cutback will affect the Ludwigshafen and Antwerp sites to an equal extent, but this measure will have no impact on the number of employees.

In June, also Dow Chemical announced plans to cut european polystyrene output by 15 percent.