Cargill to cut up to 2,000 jobs,
blames economy
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Food-industry conglomerate Cargill Inc. said Friday it will cut up to 2,000
jobs to reduce expenses in a weak economy.
Cargill,
which has 138,000 employees, said most of the cuts will occur in the next six
months.
"These
are difficult
decisions but are
necessary to better position the company for continued growth," said
spokesman Mike
Fernandez. The company said each business unit made recommendations for
reductions, and the cuts were not uniform across all segments.
The
privately held Minneapolis company produces meat, grain, food ingredients and
other products and services.
This week,
U.S. labor regulators moved to cut off federal contracts for the Cargill Meat
Solutions subsidiary, charging that the business discriminated against
women and Asians who applied for entry-level jobs at a plant in Arkansas. The
unit holds federal contracts worth more than $550 million.
The company
said minorities make up the bulk of workers at the plant, and it said the
government's accusations were based on a statistical analysis of job seekers
rather than hiring decisions.
The plant
was the source for about 36 million pounds of ground turkey recalled this year
after a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 100 people and was blamed
in one death. It is one of the largest meat recalls in U.S. history.
Cargill
doesn't report financial results in the same detail as publicly traded
companies, but it said in October that fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 66
percent despite a 34 percent increase in revenue. The company was hurt by
volatile commodity prices that hurt its trading business, and the sale of a
majority stake in a fertilizer maker also reduced profit.
Personal
Reactions:
The decisions of the Cargill Company
has different outcome in the economy of U.S. in the First place if they cut off
their employees and it will result to high profit. It would affect the Gross
National Profit in a positive way but the cut up of their employees will
increase the total unemployment rate of the U.S.
I understand why the Company
made the cut up of jobs and blame the economy. Due to the shifting of the
demand curve the Cargill also become practical that’s why they should eliminate
some of their employees to lessen their expense.
Recommendations:
I highly recommend that the
Cargill Company should not limit their employment in a way that they must be
open to women, Asians, and other sectors of the community. They should accept
does who are capable and would meet their standards.
The company must also ensure
that their remaining employees must perform well to have a better outcome as a
result of their cut up. They must retain those highly skilled employees so that
they can contribute to the wellness and productivity of the company. And in the
long –run they will be able to stay in the market.
