ST. LOUIS — Agriculture trader Cargill, which has a grain facility in East St. Louis, said this week it is laying off 5% of its global workforce, or about 8,000 employees companywide.

The company would not say how many local employees will lose their jobs.

Cargill has facilities in East St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri, plus in Kansas City and along the Mississippi River in Florence and Meredosia, Illinois, about 100 miles north of St. Louis.

In an email statement to the Post-Dispatch Tuesday, Cargill company spokesperson April Nelson said Cargill is realigning its talent and resources to “evolve and strengthen” its portfolio.

“Unfortunately, that means reducing our global workforce by approximately five percent,” the statement reads. “This difficult decision was not made lightly. We will lean on our core value of putting people first as we support our colleagues during this transition.”

Cargill is a Minnesota-based food trader and producer that distributes things like grains, meats and oilseeds around the world. It reported revenue of $160 billion in its 2024 annual report, down $17 billion from the year before. The company has more than 160,000 workers worldwide.

Cargill to cut 8,000 workers, could affect East St. Louis plant

A Cargill bucket elevator is framed in the Gateway Arch as it unloads grain to be elevated to its East St. Louis plant on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. The agriculture trader announced cuts this week to about 8,000 employees companywide. It is unknown how many workers could be affected in the East St. Louis plant, located on Front Street near the bank of the Mississippi River.

Forbes recently named Cargill the country's biggest private company for the fourth year in a row.

Cargill operates a grain elevator in East St. Louis on Front Street, but company spokesperson Nelson would not say how many local workers worked there.

Rick Stubblefield, director of economic development at St. Clair County, said Tuesday he had not heard of anything about East St. Louis Cargill layoffs.

A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity said Tuesday that the department has not yet been notified by Cargill. Companies are required by law to notify the state when they plan to lay off workers.

These cuts comes as the agriculture industry continues to face falling crop prices thanks to weak demand and heightened global competition. Cargill is also grappling with the continued U.S. cattle shortage, which is increasing costs and shrinking supply.

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