Food giant Cargill is cutting 5% of its global workforce — about 8,000 jobs

Agricultural powerhouse Cargillone of the world’s largest private companies, which employs thousands of Canadians, is cutting its global workforce as part of a major restructuring.

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

According to Cargill Canada’s website, the company employs about 8,000 people in about 70 cities in Canada.

A Cargill spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Global News on Tuesday that significant workforce reductions are planned.

“To strengthen Cargill’s impact, we must realign our talent and resources to align with our strategy. Unfortunately, this means reducing our global workforce by approximately (five percent),” said the statement, which expects to cut approximately 8,000 employees.

Global News asked about any impact on the Canadian side, but did not receive a response.

Thomas Hesse, president of UFCW Local 401, the union that represents nearly 2,500 Cargill workers at two plants in Calgary and High River, Alta., said in a statement Tuesday that it does not appear that Alberta workers will be affected at this time.

“Based on initial statements from company officials, it appears that the workforce reduction plan will not affect Cargill’s operations in Alberta at this time. However, we will continue to monitor this situation closely,” he said.

Hesse added that layoffs would not be justified at the two Alberta meat processing plants given the rising beef prices of recent years.

“We will continue to fight for the interests of Cargill workers and represent them with all the tools and resources at our disposal to ensure that large corporations like Cargill treat their workers fairly,” he said.

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

Most of Cargill’s job cuts will take place this year, the company’s president and chief executive, Brian Six, said in a statement seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

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

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

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Cargill does not publish quarterly earnings reports, but a memo seen by Reuters in August said less than one-third of its companies met their profit targets last fiscal year.

“The impact on our operations and frontline teams will be minimized as we empower them to continue to deliver to our customers,” Sikes said in a note.

The move comes after Cargill said in August it would make structural changes after missing internal profit targets, with plans to streamline operations at three of its five units as part of its 2030 strategy, Reuters reported in August.

Sikes said the company will hold a meeting on Dec. 9 to share more information about the restructuring.

“For countries where we can immediately contact staff whose roles are affected, we will be holding meetings this week to explain the next steps,” he said.

— with files from Global News’ Ken MacGillivray and Reuters

© 2024 Global News, Corus Entertainment Inc. department.