Liberia's largest palm oil project lays off 10% of workforce

Liberia’s largest palm oil company, Golden Veroleum, has laid off 443 employees, more than 10% of its workforce, due to persistently low prices and the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a company spokesman said on Saturday.

Golden Veroleum is owned by the U.S.-based Verdant Fund LP, whose sole investor is Singapore-listed palm oil giant Golden Agri-Resources (GAGR.SI), the world’s second-largest palm oil plantation company.

Golden Veroleum spokesman Alphonso Kofi told Reuters that the staff being laid off included managers.