BASF SE, the world's largest chemical company, cut full-year profit target for a second time and will temporarily shutter about 80 factories after customers in the automotive industry jettisoned orders, the firm said yesterday.

The German maker of styrene and catalytic converters will cut output at a further 100 plants, affecting about 20,000 workers, the Germany-based company said in a statement. BASF abandoned a prior goal to match last year's operating profit, sending its shares down as much as 15 percent.

BASF, which supplies materials for adidas AG sneakers, said demand has dropped "significantly" since the end of last month as customers struggled to get credit and reduced inventories. Dow Chemical Co, the largest United States chemical maker, last Friday said it will take "radical actions" to reach earnings targets next year.

"Customers in the automotive industry have canceled orders at short notice," Chief Executive Officer Juergen Hambrecht said in the statement. "BASF is preparing for tough times."

BASF already cut targets last month, when Hambrecht said he saw signs of end-market deterioration. Hambrecht plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs and trim factory output to shave 1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) off costs by 2012, he said last month.

Global chemical makers need orders to service the high cost of running factories and keep debt levels in check after more than US$200 billion in acquisitions over the past two years, Bloomberg News said. That's far from the current reality of tumbling demand and falling prices.