ROUNDING IT UP

Bayer to Pay $10 Billion to Settle Lawsuits Claiming Roundup Weedkiller Caused Cancer

The funds will close out thousands of lawsuits alleging that the herbicide causes cancer.

Bayer announced Wednesday that it would pay over $10 billion in settlements for thousands of lawsuits claiming that its weed-killing product, Roundup, causes cancer. The company will pay $8.8 billion to $9.6 billion to settle the lawsuits and an additional $1.25 billion to settle potential future lawsuits, but the settlement does not admit wrongdoing or liability on the company’s part. “The decision to resolve the Roundup litigation enables us to focus fully on the critical supply of healthcare and food,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said. “It will also return the conversation about the safety and utility of glyphosate-based herbicides to the scientific and regulatory arena and to the full body of science.” The lawsuits claim that Monsanto, the original owner of Roundup bought by Bayer in 2018, ignored warnings that the weedkiller could cause cancer and hid supporting evidence from consumers.