Cargill wants to cut 164 jobs in Belgium

The announced job losses are part of a large-scale restructuring, in which the workforce will be reduced by approximately 5 percent worldwide.

For Belgium, this concerns a possible 164 employees whose jobs are threatened. The management wants to make the majority of the layoffs at the Mechelen-Vilvoorde technical business unit, where 89 jobs are threatened out of about 550 employees and executives.

“The unions regret the intention of collective dismissals,” says De Greef in an initial response. “Cargill is not a company in difficulty and simply wants more profit, which we find unacceptable. We will therefore do everything we can to maintain employment.”

Cargill’s management confirms the global restructuring plan, but does not provide separate figures for Belgium. “To amplify Cargill’s impact, we must refocus our talent and resources to better align with our strategy. Unfortunately, this means that we have to reduce our global workforce by 5 percent,” European director of media relations Nicole Marlor confirmed on Tuesday. “This difficult decision was not taken lightly. We will lean on our core value of putting people first as we support our colleagues during this transition period.”

The American food giant has been active in Belgium since 1953, through a grain import office in Antwerp. More than seventy years later, the activities have expanded significantly, including the production of ingredients for food and the processing, distribution and sale of various agricultural products. The European headquarters for food operations, Cargill’s European research and development (R&D) center and the main technical center for Europe, the Middle East and Africa are also located in Belgium.