Soda Springs-Monsanto Co. will eliminate only three jobs at its elemental phosphorus plant near Soda Springs and another position in Idaho as the St. Louis-based corporation doubles the number of employees it plans to cut worldwide. The affected Idaho employees have been notified of the reduction. On Sept. 10, Monsanto – the world’s largest seed maker and manufacturer of the Roundup herbicide – announced its intention to deepen the work force reduction it announced in June from 900 jobs, or 4 percent of its employees, to 1,800 jobs, or 8 percent of its total work force of 21,700. About 600 of the 1,800 jobs will be in the U.S., including 300 at corporate headquarters. Monsanto officials said its 2009 earnings would come in at the low end of its previous guidance, due partially to weaker-than-expected results in its herbicide sales. Most employees working in the United States have been notified of the cuts. “We announced a small reduction in force that is part of this 1,800 already. We have not been notified that additional reductions are required at this time,” said Trent Clark, Monsanto’s public and government affairs director in Soda Springs. The three-furnace Soda Springs plant, which processes phosphate from a Caribou County mine, provides chemicals for Roundup production. The company also has seed outlets in Filer, Nampa, and Payette, Idaho. Layoffs have already occurred at three Monsanto sites in Mississippi. After Roundup’s patent expired in 2000, competitors flooded the market with generic products, slamming prices. Monsanto restructured earlier this year as a result, creating a smaller division to concentrate on Roundup sales while other divisions focused on selling patented, more profitable genetically engineered seeds. The job cuts are part of the restructuring, which Monsanto estimates could run between $550 million and $600 million. The company hopes the restructuring will save between $220 million and $250 million.
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