Food giant Cargill is slashing 5% of global workforce—around 8K jobs

globalnews.ca:

Agricultural powerhouse Cargill, one of the world’s biggest privately held firms with thousands of Canadian employees, is slashing its global workforce as part of a major restructuring effort.

Cargill is a major food processor, merchandiser and commodity trader with deep roots in global agricultural systems dating back some 160 years. The company has more than 160,000 employees globally and is based out of Minnesota in the United States but makes its Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg.

According to Cargill’s Canadian website, the company employs roughly 8,000 people in Canada across some 70 cities.

A Cargill spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Global News on Tuesday that it is set for major workforce reductions.

“To strengthen Cargill’s impact, we must realign our talent and resources to align with our strategy. Unfortunately, that means reducing our global workforce by approximately (five per cent),” the statement read, working out to roughly 8,000 employees.

Global News asked about any impacts to the Canadian side of its operations but did not receive a response.

Employees were alerted to the impending restructuring in an internal memo first obtained by Bloomberg.

Most of Cargill’s job reductions would take place this year, the company’s president and CEO, Brian Sikes, said in a the memo also reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

“They will focus on streamlining our organizational structure by removing layers, expanding the scope and responsibilities of our managers, and reducing duplication of work,” Sikes said in the memo.

Unlisted Cargill reported revenue of $160 billion for its 2024 fiscal year that ended in May, down from a record $177 billion in the previous year.

Cargill does not release quarterly earnings