American agricultural biotechnology firm Monsanto has announced it will cut 2,600 jobs over the next two years as falling sales of both genetically modified seeds and its flagship weedkiller Roundup continue to weigh heavily on the company’s finances.
The planned redundancies represent a 13 percent reduction in the company’s global workforce of around 20,000 employees, with marketing and sales departments expected to bear the brunt of the cuts. The restructuring is targeted at generating savings of between $275 million and $300 million, with the full programme expected to be completed within 18 to 24 months.
The job losses come against a backdrop of declining performance across Monsanto’s core product lines. Sales of genetically modified seeds, which have historically been the company’s primary source of revenue, fell by 4.6 percent in 2014. Sales of herbicides and fertilisers, including Roundup, dropped by seven percent over the same period. The company’s share price has fallen 26 percent since the start of the year, while profits declined by $2.31 billion — a drop of 15.5 percent — in its most recent financial year.
The difficulties have been compounded by a damaging announcement from the World Health Organisation earlier this year, which classified glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup — as a probable human carcinogen. While the ruling carried no immediate legal consequences, it has prompted governments across several countries to move toward restricting or banning the use of glyphosate-based pesticides, citing risks to human health, bee populations and wider biodiversity.
The timing is particularly difficult for Monsanto, as growing public and political debate around environmental issues places agricultural chemicals under increasing scrutiny. The upcoming COP21 climate conference in Paris has intensified that conversation, pushing questions about the impact of industrial agriculture further into the mainstream.
