LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — Cargill Inc. has launched a restructuring that includes job cuts, one company source and four industry sources said last week.
The 150-year-old company, a top commodities trader, is also closing offices, two of the industry sources said.
The cutbacks at the Minnesota-based company come as global agricultural companies are under pressure from slumping commodity prices, slowing demand in China and weakness in emerging markets where Cargill has significant investments.
Cargill may eliminate as many as 4,000 jobs, which would represent about 2.5 percent of its employees, one of the industry sources said.
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The company is “working on recalibrating their business,” said another industry source, a banker.
A Cargill spokesperson initially declined to comment, but later added that he had not “heard anything along the lines of the layoff numbers you mentioned or office closings.”
Cargill is among four companies that dominate the flow of agricultural goods around the world, competing against rivals Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd and Louis Dreyfus Corp.
Recently, the companies have faced new competition from trading houses in Asia.
“It seems like they’re trying to adapt and be a little bit leaner and faster,” one U.S. grain trader who interacts with Cargill said about the company.
