Cargill to lay off 475 workers in Minnesota, 8,000 worldwide

(Kyra Miles – MPRnews) – About 475 Minnesota Cargill employees will be laid off this winter.

The Minnesota-based agricultural trading giant told employees Monday that it would be eliminating almost 8,000 positions globally, including Minnesota staff, in an effort to realign their talent and resources with their strategy.

Cargill has said it plans to cut around 5 percent of its staff after revenue slumped in its most recent fiscal year as crop prices hit multi-year lows. The company is responsible for 25 percent U.S. grain exports.

In a statement, the company said the decision was made to strengthen Cargill’s impact and “as the world around us changes, we are committed to transforming even faster to deliver for our customers and fulfil our purpose of nourishing the world.”

Cargill has given employees a 60-day notice, with layoffs to begin in early February. The affected employees in Minnesota are not represented by a union and the company expects these terminations to be permanent.

Agricultural merchants, including privately held Cargill, are under pressure as prices of the commodity crops they trade, such as wheat, corn and soybeans, have dropped to near four-year lows and crop processing margins have shrunk.

The company 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 statements, but in a memo seen by Reuters in August, it said less than one-third of its businesses met their earnings goals in the last fiscal year.

Reuters contributed to this report.