By Ella Cao and Karl Plume
Beijing/Chicago (Reuters)-Global Grain Mercher Archer-Daniels-Midland has started closing the domestic trading activities in China and dismissing staff within his largest business segment as part of a global cost-saving pressure, the company said in an e-mail statement on Monday.
The move was intended to help ADM, a giant of the grain trade that has been engaged in an accounting scandal since last year, “remain agile in a challenging environment,” the company said in the statement. ADM's income has eroded due to the prices of the conclusion of the division of inflation and a division of consumers (AS&O) division.
Rising trade stresses between Washington and Beijing are now bringing new headwind to ADM, which depends on the trade between the exporter of the top companies in the United States and China, the best importer.
The gradual affection of the domestic trade at ADM's applicant Shanghai daughter was expected to be closed at the end of September, said ADM, and added that his other activities in Shanghai would not be affected.
The company did not disclose the number of dismissals, but a source that is familiar with the case said that jobs would influence 40 to 50 employees, so that only about 10 employees in the financial hub of Shanghai were left behind.
“The entire AG services and oil truck team in China has essentially been released,” said a source, referring to the largest business segment of ADM.
ADM started fired in February as part of a broader cost -saving drive to save $ 500 million to $ 700 million for the next three to five years. The company had posted its weakest adapted profit of the fourth quarter in six years.
(Reporting by Ella Cao and Amy LV in Beijing and Karl Plume in Chicago; Edit by Matthew Lewis)
