Taguig City—Bayer opened last week a P750-million office here as it commemorates its 60 years in the Philippines.
Located at Science Hub Tower 1 at McKinley Hill Cyberpark, Taguig City, the four-level, hybrid workplace, brings together the central operations of its Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals, and Consumer Health divisions as well as its Global Business Services and enabling functions into one single location.
Aside from serving the local market, the Philippines is also the base for the Consumer Health business in ASEAN. Manila is also a key location for Bayer Global Business Services (GBS) which supports business operations worldwide. GBS Manila is the largest site by headcount among a network of seven sites across the globe, bringing the total number of Bayer employees in the Philippines to over 1,800.
“This is the biggest office project of Bayer in ASEAN,” declared Ernst Coppens, Managing Director, and Chief Operating Officer of Bayer in ASEAN.
Since Bayer started the global transformation program in 2021, over 70 projects at Bayer sites are adopting the next normal office concept.
Inclusive hybrid working spaces
Previously located in three locations in Metro Manila and Laguna, the new Bayer office in the Philippines is designed around Bayer’s Next Normal Office Concept (NNOC).
With spacious, and co-work style space, the office features a variety of formal and informal work areas with sit-to-stand ergonomic desks and chairs, stationary bike desks, stand-alone pods for individual calls or virtual meetings, and huddle spaces for quick group catch-ups. Meeting rooms of various sizes feature state-of-the-art video conferencing equipment to help employees easily collaborate with colleagues globally.
As Bayer fosters an inclusive and diverse workforce and culture, the new office has a multi-faith room, deaf-friendly safety alarms, braille on key signages, a mother’s room for nursing moms situated on two out of four floors, and gender-neutral toilets located on all floors.
Employees can also enjoy recreational facilities (Inset) such as chess, air hockey, foosball, and sub-soccer tables located along employee locker hallways or in the Work Cafe, a dedicated game room and nap areas, plus a gym with free fitness classes.
Driving sustainability
Bayer is also running sustainability programs in the country that combine the expertise of its Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals, and Consumer Health divisions to help address sustainability challenges around agriculture and health.
Its flagship Bayer Kubo program focuses on supporting smallholder farming communities in partnership with ASSIST Asia. It includes capacity-building programs around reproductive health and family planning, self-care, nutrition, and agri-oriented financial management and best practices.