Glyphosate Settlement Talks Delayed by Coronavirus, Bayer Reports

Talks between Bayer AG and plaintiff lawyers to settle claims that the German company’s glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer have been slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, Bayer’s Chief Executive told daily Handelsblatt.

“This is about currently not being able to meet in person for talks. All this of course slows down the negotiations,” CEO Werner Baumann told the newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.

Court-appointed mediator Ken Feinberg told Reuters last month that the talks were slowed by the pandemic.

In the Handelsblatt interview, CEO Baumann reiterated remarks he made at the end of February that he was under no time pressure to strike a settlement deal and that he would not submit to a schedule or deadline.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss Editing by Michelle Martin)