Business experts don't expect Bunge, Viterra deal to have much impact on jobs in Sask.

Business experts don't anticipate the multi-million dollar acquisition of Viterra, with its Canadian headquarters in Saskatchewan's capital city, to heavily impact jobs in the province.

"It's very hard to see any loss of jobs in an industry which is actually a critical industry," said George Tannous, a finance professor with the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan.

The deal was jointly announced Tuesday by Missouri-based Bunge and Viterra, which is owned by Swiss commodities giant Glencore, as well as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and B.C. Investment Management Corp.

Under the terms of the agreement, Viterra shareholders would receive about US$6.2 billion worth of Bunge stock and another approximately US$2 billion in cash. Bunge will also take on US$9.8 billion of Viterra debt.

Viterra, which has roots in the iconic Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, is a grain-handling business that has more than 80 facilities across the country and exports into more than 70 countries. Its Canadian headquarters is in Regina, Sask.

Bunge is the world's largest oilseeds processing company, operating 300 facilities in more than 40 countries worldwide.

Despite the acquisition, experts like Tannous and union representatives like Steve Torgerson, general secretary of the Grain and General Services Union, are not very concerned about job losses.

"I don't see that being a large issue here, because the two partners are more complimentary, they don't have as much overlap in their functions," Torgerson said on Tuesday.

"It is a concern, but it's probably not expected to the high volumes that some mergers would bring."

The union represents about 600 Saskatchewan Viterra employees.

Torgerson said the company does have strong job loss protections in place for people who are laid off.

A Viterra spokesperson did not answer questions about whether the deal was expected to lead to layoffs in the province or if it would lead to the headquarters being moved out of Regina.

Heavy job losses not expected

Tannous said that with more interest in plant-based foods and general industry growth, he doesn't expect the agricultural need to slow enough for job losses.

Min Maung, also a finance professor at the University of Saskatchewan, agreed.

"Everything will be business as usual because they want a presence in Saskatchewan," he said.

Both Tannous and Maung agree that higher-level management is most likely to see layoffs.

"If they are not operating in the same location and there is not much overlap — there might be a new boss coming … but at the lower levels it's going to be business as usual," Maung said.

Maung speculated that the acquisition of Viterra is just one move to bring Saskatchewan to the global agricultural market and expects others to start looking to the province for mergers and acquisitions.

Union concerned employees will be forgotten

Torgerson said the union's main concern is employees being lost in the shadow of a massive deal.

He said mergers and acquisitions focus on the larger business and the shareholders, but "very, very rarely actually bring much concern to the table about the working folks of those companies as well as the people impacted — the producers and the folks in the [agriculture] industry."

He's hoping the workers on the ground across Canada will be included in discussions about the impacts of the merger.

Torgerson said collective agreement negotiations are underay, with the union most concerned with liveable wages and reasonable work hours. He doesn't expect those to be affected by the merger.

The federal Competition Bureau confirmed Tuesday it will be reviewing the proposed Viterra-Bunge merger in accordance with the federal Competition Act.

The merger is expected to close in the middle of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by Bunge shareholders.