Monsanto said it will restructure and cut jobs.

Plans call for the St. Louis-based chemical company to strengthen some programs while withdrawing from marginal businesses and production facilities, according to Richard J. Mahoney, president and chief executive. However, the result of the restructuring will be the laying off of thousands of employees in the United States and overseas, the firm said, with up to 1,500 of the 8,800 jobs in the St. Louis area being eliminated. Assets that “no longer have strategic importance” will be sold, Mahoney added. Monsanto employs 37,500 people in the United States and 13,000 overseas, company spokesman Dan Bishop said.