MINNETONKA, Minn. — Cargill, the nation’s largest privately held company, has announced it will cut 5% of its global workforce, amounting to approximately 8,000 jobs. The decision comes as the commodities giant seeks to recover from a significant drop in profits, following the record-breaking years during the pandemic.
In a statement, Cargill outlined that the layoffs are part of a broader restructuring initiative, aiming to streamline operations and strengthen the company’s competitiveness. The company’s profits fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade, prompting the global workforce reduction to align resources with the company’s 2030 strategic goals.
“We must realign our talent and resources to align with our strategy. Unfortunately, that means reducing our global workforce by approximately 5%,” the company said.
“This difficult decision was not made lightly, and we will lean on our core value of putting people first as we support our colleagues during this transition,” the company added.
The layoffs will affect employees across Cargill’s global footprint, including 475 positions at the company’s Minnetonka, Minnesota headquarters. Employees will be notified this week, with terminations set to begin in February. The company emphasized that the cuts will focus on streamlining organizational structures, removing layers, and expanding responsibilities for managers to eliminate work duplication.
This round of layoffs is part of Cargill’s ongoing restructuring plan, following a 36% drop in profits for the most recent fiscal year, which amounted to $2.5 billion. The company had previously posted record profits of $6.7 billion two years ago, driven by high commodity prices during the pandemic.
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