• Human resources management
• Talent management
• Job application management
• Idea management
• Vocational training management
• Profit-sharing scheme and stock option plan

Employees

Our employees are the basis on which the Company’s success is founded. It is thanks to their achievements, their skills, and their commitment that we command leading positions in our markets. We support our employees through numerous measures and actively promote international and interdisciplinary cooperation.

The Fresenius Group had 130,510 employees worldwide at the end of 2009, an increase of 8,293 or 7 % (December 31, 2008: 122,217). Acquisitions accounted for 3 % of the increase.

The employee numbers in the business segments were as follows:

At the end of 2009, there were 40,416 employees in Germany, an increase of 9 % (2008: 37,078). 90,094 employees (69 %) are employed at our foreign companies. The chart shows the distribution of our employees by region. These percentages roughly correspond to the sales contributions of the respective continents. With an increase of 7 %, the number of employees has grown significantly in Europe. This was mainly due to the hospital acquisitions at HELIOS. The number of employees also rose strongly in Asia-Pacific, with an increase of 14 %. This largely reflects our fast-growing business in this region, where sales growth was 13 % in constant currency.

Personnel expenses for the Fresenius Group were € 4,880 million in 2009 (2008: € 4,332 million), equivalent to 34.5 % of sales (2008: 35.1 %). Personnel expenses per employee were € 38.2 thousand (2008: € 36.5 thousand). There were no significant changes to compensation or employment agreements in 2009. The increase was mainly due to collectively bargained pay increases and the higher overall number of employees.