Monsanto announces 900 layoffs worldwide

AFP - US biotech giant Monsanto said Wednesday it would cut 900 jobs as part of restructuring to cope with tough economic times as it reported a 14 percent fall in quarterly net income.

The planned revamp included creation of a separate division for its herbicide business, "which is expected to enable the company to better align spending and working capital needs," Monsanto said in a statement.

It said restructuring plans will see "a reduction of approximately 900 employees across the entire company" to "vary from country to country and will be less than four percent of the company's global workforce."

"The actions announced today will allow our company to better navigate in today's changing business environment and keep the company on a clear path for growth," said Monsanto chief executive Hugh Grant.

Monsanto said its net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 was down 14 percent to 694 million dollars from the same period last year.

Its net sales of 3.2 billion dollars was 11 percent lower.

The quarterly results reflected decreased revenues from the company's Roundup and other agricultural herbicides.

Earnings per share for the quarter was 1.25 dollars -- higher than the 1.17 dollars projected by most analysts -- with the company expecting full-year 2009 earnings to be at the "low end" of its previously-announced range of 4.40-4.50 dollars.

Grant remained optimistic.

"Our 2009 fiscal year represents a milestone for our business as our seeds and traits business alone will deliver more gross profit than all of Monsanto did in 2007, a remarkable achievement in just two short years," he said.

The company sees a "doubling gross profit for the entire company from the 2007 base of 4.2 billion dollars to roughly 8.6 to 8.8 billion dollars in 2012," he said.