Bayer officials are in town from Germany this week, able to meet with Monsanto employees and leaders as the companies come together at last.
Almost two full years after Bayer's $63 billion acquisition of the Creve Coeur-based crop science company was first announced, the two businesses were finally cleared to begin functioning as one last week, after divestitures needed to satisfy regulators at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Already there are some signs of change _ from the Bayer signage that now stands outside Monsanto's longtime research campus in Chesterfield to the new Bayer email addresses for former Monsanto personnel.
Overall, though, it will take some time for more specific details to emerge about changes that await the combined company, and its presence in the St. Louis area.
In a meeting with news outlets Wednesday morning in Chesterfield, company executives reiterated strong verbal commitments to St. Louis.
"People quickly told me, 'Please don't InBev us,'" said Liam Condon, president of Bayer's Crop Science Division, referring to the decade-old sale of the St. Louis brewing icon, Anheuser-Busch, to the Belgian company, InBev, and the ensuing erosion of local jobs and clout at the company's regional operations.
"What we already said two years ago _ and nothing has changed whatsoever related to this _ the global headquarters for seeds and traits and the North American commercial headquarters are based here in St. Louis," Condon said.
Condon said there would be shifts of personnel between St. Louis and Bayer's existing facilities in Germany and North Carolina _ a process that he previously said may take about a year for any resolution.
"This isn't a straight calculation. There's going to be a lot of moving variables," he added. "But this whole deal was built around the concept of innovation and growth, and nothing has changed on that front. So my personal belief is very firmly (that) long-term we will have more jobs here as opposed to less." Monsanto has 5,400 full-time employees in the St. Louis area and 20,000 globally.
Condon suggested that the company's local presence would not be concentrated exclusively around research positions in the future, saying that the expansive work done in the region would still require administrative support.
Company officials also expressed broad excitement Wednesday about opportunities for complementary research and product development spanning biotechnology and data and analytics.
Bayer said that controversies and legal issues surrounding glyphosate and dicamba were off the table for discussion Wednesday, and that the company would speak to the matters during a call with investors on Thursday.
