In 2024, the Bayer Corporation reported 2.6 billion dollars in losses as a result of the drop in share value, driven by the 65,000 lawsuits still pending in the United States over the use of the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup.

While losses were less than in 2023, the company is considering discontinuing production of the weed killer, although, as is often the case when the rich face difficulties, Bayer has sought greater legal protection from the government to address the onslaught of lawsuits.

In 2018, Bayer paid 63 billion dollars to purchase Monsanto, acquiring with it all of its outstanding debt and pending legal proceedings. Since then, the German giant, the only glyphosate producer in the United States, has had to pay over 10 billion dollars in court-ordered damages and out-of-court settlements.

Recently, a court in the U.S. state of Georgia ruled against the European corporation, ordering it to pay over 2 billion dollars to a plaintiff that claimed he had contracted cancer through the use of Roundup, which contains glyphosate.

In a statement sent to the news agencies Bloomberg and Reuters, the plaintiff’s legal representatives said the ruling includes 65 million dollars in compensatory damages and 2 billion dollars in punitive damages.

The German group issued its own statement announcing that it disagreed with the jury’s verdict, as it went against the “overwhelming weight of scientific evidence” and the “consensus” of regulatory authorities and their scientific assessments around the world. “We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned, and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced,” Bayer said.

The company is petitioning U.S. legislators for greater protection against this type of lawsuits. And in the best Donald Trump style, it has threatened to withdraw from the market if a clear regulatory framework is not put in place.

Bayer’s apparent ill-judgment in acquiring Monsanto, with its bundle of pending lawsuits and other legal proceedings, has caused the company to lose value on the stock market, plunging it into a serious financial crisis.

However, there will not be enough money to pay for all the damage that Monsanto, Bayer, glyphosate, and GMOs have sown across the planet, were a court of justice seriously order it to pay.