ZURICH: Agrochemicals company Syngenta is cutting just over 10% of its workforce at its Swiss headquarters in Basel, the company said on Wednesday, following a big downturn in its crop protection business this year.
Up to 150 of the 1,100 positions in the city will be affected at the Chinese-owned company which employs 60,000 people globally.
“Due to a more severe and sustained difficult economic environment the company is seeking to reduce its workforce at the Basel HQ,” a Syngenta spokesman said.
“This program aims to reduce our Basel headcount by approximately 150 roles in 2024,” said the spokesman, adding that Basel would remain the company’s global HQ.
Syngenta said job cuts were underway in other markets “to strengthen the competitiveness of the company,” although there was no global job cutting plan in place.
The losses come after Syngenta, which produces seeds and crop protection sprays, reported a 17% drop in sales in the first six months of 2024. Core operating profit slumped by 36%.
The company has been hit by continued destocking by farmers, who built up large inventories of seeds and insecticides after the pandemic.
Lower agricultural commodity prices reduced the spending power of farmers, who also held back on using crop sprays during heavy rains, particularly in the United States.
“While agriculture has always been a cyclical industry, the market has been exceptionally challenging this year, making this a very unique market downturn,” the spokesman said on Wednesday.
Syngenta was bought by ChemChina in 2017 for $43 billion and was folded into Sinochem Holdings Corp in 2021.
Earlier this year it withdrew its bid for a multi-billion dollar listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange due to unfavourable market conditions. (Reporting by John Revill; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)
