ZURICH (Reuters) – Agrochemicals company Syngenta is cutting just over 10% of its workforce at its Swiss headquarters in Basel, newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on Wednesday, following a big downturn in its crop protection business this year.

Up to 150 of the 1,100 positions in the city will be affected at the Chinese-owned company which employs 60,000 people globally.

“The cuts are affecting all areas and levels of the heirarchy,” Syngenta manager Alexandra Brand told the newspaper.

The losses come after Syngenta, which produces seeds and crop protection sprays, reported a 17% drop in sales in the first six months of 2024. Core operating profit slumped by 36%.

The company has been hit by continued destocking by farmers, who built up large inventories of seeds and insecticides after the pandemic.

Lower agricultural commodity prices reduced the spending power of farmers, who also held back on using crop sprays during heavy rains, particularly in the United States.

Syngenta was bought by ChemChina in 2017 for $43 billion and was folded into Sinochem Holdings Corp in 2021.

Earlier this year it withdrew its bid for a multi-billion dollar listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange due to unfavourable market conditions.

(Reporting by John Revill; editing by Jason Neely)