A court has ordered Bayer to pay $2.25 billion in damages related to its weedkiller Roundup, with the payment to go to a Pennsylvania man who alleges he developed cancer from exposure to glyphosate.
The amount of damages is likely to be trimmed on appeal because it includes $2 billion in punitive damages, which goes beyond U.S. Supreme Court guidance.
The news sent shares down by up to 5.7% Monday although by last trade, the stock price was down 4.6%. Shares have lost 70% of their value since Bayer’s 2018 acquisition of Monsanto. The ruling comes as CEO Bill Anderson works to review the company’s structure and to streamline decisionmaking by eliminating some management jobs.
Bayer reiterated its plans to continue defending cases in trial and has won 10 out of the last 16 cases that went to trial.
