CHICAGO — Agribusiness giant ADM on March 26 confirmed that it is cutting an undisclosed number of jobs from its grain trading and oilseed processing division. News of the layoffs was first reported by Reuters.

Responding to an interview request from Sosland Publishing, Jackie Anderson, senior director of external communications at ADM, provided the following written statement: “ADM is a pillar of the entire global food system. It’s critical that we continuously drive the simplification of our organization and ensure our cost structure allows us to remain competitive so we can continue fulfilling this vital global role. These actions are part of the targeted workforce reduction and cost saving actions we announced earlier this year. We are prioritizing the care of our employees throughout this process and communicating directly with impacted employees.”

The Ag Services and Oilseeds division houses the company’s global crop trading, transportation and storage, and oilseed processing operations.

After posting its lowest fourth-quarter adjusted profit in six years, the Chicago-based company announced in February that it planned to lay off 600 to 700 employees in 2025 and cut costs by $500 million to $700 million over the next three to five years, including $200 million to $300 million this year.

A recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing showed that Juan Luciano, ADM’s chief executive officer, took a pay cut in 2024, with his salary dropping to $21.6 million from $24.4 million the previous year.

ADM stock has plummeted since the announcement in January 2024 that it had launched a voluntary investigation into accounting practices in the company’s nutrition segment. The scandal cost former chief financial officer Vikram Luthar his job and triggered two federal investigations.

While ADM’s internal investigation into accounting practices is substantially complete, the company said it continues to cooperate with the SEC and the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigations into the matter. The company was forced to revise six years of financial statements early last year and further restate some earnings in the fall of 2024 after the internal investigation.

ADM shares have fallen 32% since news of the accounting issues broke, closing at $46.05 per share on March 25.

In its most recent earnings report on Feb. 5, ADM posted net income in the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, of $1.8 billion, equal to $3.65 per share on the common stock, down 48% from $3.48 billion, or $6.43 per share, in fiscal 2023. Segment operating profit was $4.21 billion in fiscal 2024, down 28% from $5.87 billion in fiscal 2023.