Employees¹

The commitment of our employees worldwide is the foundation of Fresenius’ success. With their achievements, skills, and dedication, they help the Operating Companies to occupy leading positions in their markets. Through flexible working time models, targeted personnel development, and strategic succession planning, Fresenius aims to create an environment that attracts, promotes, and retains talent – thereby strengthening its competitiveness and attractiveness as an employer in the long term.

As of December 31, 2025, the number of employees increased to 178,394. Personnel expenses² were €10,099 million in 2025 (2024: €9,621 million), equivalent to 45% of revenue (2024: 44%). Personnel expenses per employee, based on the average number of employees, were €57 thousand (2024: €55 thousand).

In Germany, Fresenius companies have signed tariff agreements with IGBCE (Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie), Marburger Bund, and ver.di (labor union for services). In 2024, there was a new union agreement between the Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie and the IGBCE, which in particular provides for a wage increase and recognizes the union commitment of employees through paid time off. Further changes were made in 2025 for the Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie. Fresenius Helios hospitals in Germany are subject to a Helios Group collective agreement, the collective agreement for public service (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst), or company-specific collective agreements.

Employees by Region

Human resources management

We are constantly adapting our human resources tools to meet new requirements arising, among other things, from demographics, the transformation to a service economy, the shortage of skilled workers, and employees’ desire for a better work-life balance. For example, we offer flexible working hours and have established a modern hybrid working environment.

Further information can be found in our Sustainability Statement in section Own workforce.

Employee recruitment and personnel development

In order to meet our need for highly qualified employees in the long term and attract new employees, we rely on targeted HR marketing activities. For example, we cooperate with universities on a variety of formats, have our own HR channels on the most important social media platforms for our target groups, and have launched an ambassador program for all Fresenius employees (Fresenius Ambassadors).

In addition, we try to retain our employees in the long term by offering attractive development opportunities and making internal development opportunities transparent to all employees through a cross-divisional global internal job exchange (stayFresenius).

In addition, the training of junior staff (apprentices and dual students) is an important part of our recruitment process. We also offer exciting internships and student jobs for students to get to know Fresenius and build loyalty to the Company.

In 2024, we launched a program (joinFresenius – Employees Recruit Employees) for some business units in Germany that is designed to encourage our employees to use their knowledge, contacts, and personal networks to attract talented people for externally advertised positions that will strengthen and expand our Fresenius team.

The development and implementation of concepts and measures for recruiting and promoting staff will be aligned with the market requirements of the respective segments and will be more standardized in the future. A cross-divisional approach is being pursued in order to ensure a more coherent and effective strategy. We select applicants solely on the basis of their qualifications and experience. We aim to ensure that everyone with comparable aptitude has the same career opportunities at Fresenius.

The proportion of female employees was 68% as of December 31, 2025 (December 31, 2024: 68%). The proportion of females in services or care is traditionally higher than in the area of production. Thus, Fresenius Helios has, with 74%, the highest proportion of female employees within the Group.

From the perspective of the Management Board, the CSRD regulatory framework for governance structure is also to be applied, and at the same time, relevant regulations outside Europe are to be observed.

For the calculation of the gender distribution at the top management level, Fresenius defines its employees in top management as having the day-to-day tasks of managing the organization and being part of level 1 or level 2 below the Management Board. This includes only persons who actually hold a management position, thus secretarial positions or assistantships, for example, are not counted. Managerial activities contain at least one of the following criteria: leadership responsibility and / or budget responsibility. This Group-wide female quota as of December 31, 2025 was 26.3%.

You can visit our multiple-award-winning careers portal at www.career.fresenius.com. Further information on employment management can be found in the Sustainability Statement in section Own workforce.

¹ The previous year’s figures (2024) were adjusted as a result of the gradual exit from Fresenius Vamed (see note 1. III. Classifications of the Notes). Previous year’s figures (2023) were adjusted due to divestments and the deconsolidation of Fresenius Medical Care.

² In accordance with IFRS 5, VIACAMA’s personnel expenses from continuing operations were recognized for 2025, 2024 and 2023.