Internationality and age structure

At Merck 74% of all employees come from countries other than Germany. One of our basic principles is to hire and develop employees from the respective countries of our business operations. The company’s decision to locate the divisional headquarters of Merck Serono in Geneva, Switzerland and of Merck Millipore in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, also contributes to the internationality of the workforce, which we want to further intensify.

Demographic change is not equally noticeable in all countries in which we operate. We must adapt to the aging of the population, particularly in Germany, some other EU countries as well as the United States. In these countries, the average age of our employees already exceeds 40 – and we assume that this figure will increase further. In Europe, we are using various programs to address these demographic challenges. These include adapting workplaces to the needs of older employees and establishing a health management program to maintain their ability to do their job. We also want to analyze how we can attract young employees to the company and motivate them to pursue a career at Merck.