A French Monsanto research facility was burnt down earlier this week. According to investigators, the fire was set by an arsonist. Jakob Witten, a Monsanto representative, reported for Reuters that the fire was most likely a crime, as the investigators haven’t found any electrical or any other source.
As he explains, this is an unprecedented case for them, as no other European Monsanto facility has ever been the victim of fires of criminal origin – until now. The investigators also suspect this was a crime, as they noticed a strong gasoline smell in several areas of the facility.
This is an important fact if you have in mind that the fire started in several areas of the building, so it was probably not accidental.
France declared that it bans Monsanto’s flagship herbicide RoundUp in June last year. The country also announced they are going to strengthen the ban on GM crops. Today, Monsanto has become one of the most controversial and hated corporations in the world, so it’s no longer in the shadows.
France is one of the countries which have shown great resistance to this agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation. However, this week’s fire is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems Monsanto faces this period.
In order to save money due to the declining profits, Monsanto had to close 3 different research facilities recently. Last week, Reuters reported that as a way to reduce the costs, Monsanto will soon have to close their research centers in Wisconsin, Middleton, Connecticut, Mystic, and the Research Triangle Park located in North Carolina.
What’s more, the recent bad reputation of Monsanto has forced this huge corporation to announce that soon it will cut 12 percent of its workforce, which is 2,600 jobs. They will do that in order to cut costs. Another thing Monsanto declared is a loss of 19% per share in the latest quarter. They expect their profits to stay low during this whole year.
Via Vanity fair