Food giant Cargill to cut 164 jobs in Belgium amid global restructuring
US food giant Cargill plans to cut 164 jobs in Belgium as part of a global restructuring effort that aims to reduce the company’s workforce by 5 per cent.
Cargill employs approximately 1,200 people in Belgium across facilities in Antwerp, Mechelen, Ghent, Vilvoorde, Izegem and Mouscron. The majority of the layoffs are expected to affect the technical operations unit in Mechelen-Vilvoorde, where 89 out of 550 positions are at risk.
“The unions strongly regret this intent for collective redundancies,” said Tina De Greef, union secretary at CSC/ACV Food and Services. “Cargill is not a company in financial difficulty; they simply want more profit, which we find unacceptable. We will do everything we can to protect these jobs.”
Cargill’s management has confirmed the global restructuring plan but has not disclosed specific figures for Belgium.
"Cargill is not a company in financial difficulty; they simply want more profit, which we find unacceptable"
“To strengthen Cargill’s impact, we need to reallocate our talent and resources to align better with our strategy. Unfortunately, this means reducing our global workforce by 5 per cent,” said Nicole Marlor, Cargill’s European media relations director, on Tuesday.
“This difficult decision was not taken lightly. We remain committed to supporting our employees during this transition, guided by our core value of putting people first.”
Cargill has been active in Belgium since 1953, beginning as a grain import office in Antwerp. Over the past 70 years, it has expanded significantly and now operates in food ingredient production, agricultural processing and product distribution. Belgium also hosts Cargill’s European headquarters for food activities, its European research and development centre, and a key technical hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Cargill's House of Chocolate in Mouscron © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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