DECATUR, IL- A large number of white collar layoffs at Decatur's Archer Daniels Midland are expected this week, starting possibly as early as Tuesday.
Salaried white collar workers at ADM have been waiting for over a month to find out if they will keep their jobs and they will soon learn their fate as the company cuts 1,000 workers worldwide. Just how many will be cut locally has not been announced, but the city is bracing for a number in the hundreds.
ADM said in January it hopes to save over $100 million a year with the cutbacks. This will have a huge impact on the community and the workers whose lives will be impacted by these cuts.
Decatur Mayor Mike McElroy called ADM a "wonderful corporate citizen," and is looking towards a brighter future for ADM in Decatur.
"They continue to do things that Decatur is proud of," McElroy says. "So I hope the good times come back and I really believe that they will."
When the cuts are completed, 15 percent of the company's corporate staff will be out of work worldwide. That would account for a reduction of about 3 percent of the company's total workforce.
The agribusiness giant has recently announced that it will be closing plants in both Iowa and North Dakota.
An ethanol plant in Walhalla, North Dakota will close in April, putting 61 people out of work. And a polymer plant in Clinton, Iowa will also be closing soon, cutting 43 jobs there.
