Monsanto announced it will close its lab in the Stonington part of Mystic by the second half of next year, at the cost of forty jobs.
One employee who said she didn't want to go on camera said she was a little upset, telling NBC Connecticut, "but what are you gonna do?"
The barn-sized brick laboratory building at Monsanto Mystic Research has large greenhouses behind it, greenhouses for growing genetically modified plants. But Monsanto is not growing, it's shrinking, consolidating research in the Saint Louis area.
In a statement, David Somers of Monsanto said, “We remain committed to treating our employees with respect as we work through these transitions and next steps with the facility....We’re hoping that we’ll soon hear more from parties interested in the site so that it remains a part of the community for years to come.”
Biddle Morris, of Mystic, said, "Pfizer closed their research facility a few years ago and now Monsanto.... There's still that great sucking sound, isn't there?"
Monsanto is cutting thousands of jobs around the world. Here in Mystic it took over Dekalb Genetics in 1998. There have been demonstrations at the lab over the years, demonstrations against the research being done inside.
Liza Aberbach, of Groton, said, "I am not the biggest fan of genetically modified food - I understand it's more expensive but it's also good to keep jobs locally so it's a hard divided issue."
When Monsanto was more of a chemical company it had a plastic bottle factory in Stonington Borough. It closed in the 1980s and the derelict building burned down in 2003.
Stonington Commons is there now, with homes right on the water.
