Biontech Staff Reps Accuse Management of Paralysis as Leadership Handover Looms

Workers' representatives at Mainz-based drugmaker Biontech have sent a blunt letter to the executive board, accusing the company's leadership of leaving employees to cope alone with fear, discrimination and a decision-making vacuum.

The works council's letter was delivered to management on the evening of Monday, 2 November 2026. In it, the employee body criticises how the company treats its workforce and demands more clarity and reliability from those in charge, alongside existing anxieties about jobs and the company's future.

Reports of racism, sexism and threats

The letter points to what it calls harrowing accounts of racism and threats inside the business. Staff, it says, feel abandoned by those responsible when it comes to their burdens and worries. The works council also cites specific reports of sexism, discrimination and toxic conditions in the workplace.

Many of those affected never filed formal complaints, the letter states, because they feared reprisals. Managers, according to the works council, failed to resolve internal concerns and instead deflected staff by telling them to wait for incoming chief executive Guido Oelkers. That, the employee representatives argue, has created a vacuum that is unsettling the workforce.

Company rejects "standstill" charge

Biontech responded by saying it takes the criticisms very seriously and is actively seeking dialogue with staff and the works council to work through the issues raised. The company stressed that no form of discrimination is tolerated on its premises.

Management also pushed back against the claim of operational paralysis, pointing to progress in research and development: in the first nine months of 2026 the company reached 15 clinical milestones, which it said demonstrates its ability to act in day-to-day operations.

Plant closures and a leadership handover

The internal dispute comes during a period of deep restructuring. Biontech has already announced the closure of several sites: Tübingen is to shut at the end of 2027, the Marburg plant in early 2028 and the Idar-Oberstein branch at the end of 2028. Around 1,800 employees in total are affected by these measures.

A change at the top is unfolding at the same time. Co-founders U?ur ?ahin and Özlem Türeci will leave the executive board by the end of 2026 at the latest to move to the company Arife. A successor for Türeci has not yet been named.

Operational leadership of the group passes to Guido Oelkers, who joins from Swedish Orphan Biovitrum and will take over as chief executive by 1 February 2027 at the latest. Whether mRNA rights held by Biontech will be transferred into Arife is still unclear, according to the company; talks are under way, but such an arrangement is optional.

Third-quarter rebound, nine-month loss

Despite the internal tensions, Biontech posted a recovery in operating results in the third quarter of 2026. The company recorded a net profit of 184.5 million euros in the quarter, after a loss of 28.7 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

Across the first nine months of 2026, however, the loss totals 1.17 billion euros, compared with a shortfall of 831.1 million euros in the prior-year period. For the full year 2026, management slightly raised its revenue guidance and now expects between 1.7 and 1.9 billion euros, up from a previous range of 1.6 to 1.9 billion euros.