Pruning Begins At Bayer CropScience With Sale Of Four Product Lines

, which disclosed plans to lay off 1,500 workers on Tuesday, wasted no time in pruning its operations - a plan that was disclosed on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning, Bayer CropScience said it was selling some of its product lines to United Phosphorous Limited (UPL).

UPL is based in Mumbai, India.

Bayer CropScience's North American headquarters are located in RTP. Some 400 people are employed in the Triangle. On Tuesday, its parent company said the business unit would layoff 1,500 of its 19,000 workers, with most of the job losses to take place in the North America operation. Several production plants will also be closed.

Greg Coffey, a spokesperson for Bayer CropScience, said none of the products sold to UPL are related to production in the United States.

Bayer CropScience operates seven plants in the U.S.

The product lines being sold for $56 million include two herbicides (Asulox and Asilan) and two insecticides. Bayer CropScience said it retained "certain rights" related to non-agricultural uses.

"For Bayer CropScience the decision to divest these products is in line with the company´s strategy to focus on higher-margin products and therefore streamlining the portfolio," the company said in a statement. "The acquisition of Bayer CropScience's divested products is concurrent with UPL's strategy of enhancing its product portfolio across geography with an intention to offer a broad portfolio of solutions to its customers."

UPL is India's largest agrochemical company.