UPDATE: ADM to make redundancies in North America revamp

Agribusiness major Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is to offer an unspecified number of employees voluntary redundancy across its US and Canadian operations to “enhance operational agility, maximise productivity and strengthen services to customers,” a spokesperson told Agricensus Wednesday.

In a notice to employees, ADM’s president said the company was bracing itself for consolidation in an attempt to capture synergies from recent acquisitions, according to company sources.

“Beyond the planned post-acquisition synergies, there may be some individual positions eliminated as part of the restructuring of specific areas of our organization,” the spokesperson said.

“These actions are necessary to strengthen the core of our business and establish ADM as a global leader in nutrition as we continue to grow and transform our business,” she added.

Last month, ADM said its Q1 profits faced a $50-60 million hit caused by the recent floods across the US that have destroyed stocks and silos of grain.

The current announcement will be the second shake up for ADM in a year.

In March 2018, ADM said it was restructuring operations as it seeks to remain competitive in the oversupplied grain markets.

Part of the ABCD agribusiness quartet that includes Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Companies that dominate trade in food and foodstuffs, ADM has been trying to diversify into other sectors to compensate for poor margins in the grain handling business.

Sources in the grain handling market have told Agricensus that the company may be looking to dispose part of its grain handling business in North America as part of that shake up.

The company denied those reports.

A company spokesperson said: “Contrary to speculation, we are not considering sale of our grain handling business.”

Updates with additional comment from ADM spokesperson.