By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, July 17 (Reuters) - U.S.-based grain merchant Archer Daniels Midland ADM.N is closing a pet food plant in Brazil, according to a statement sent this week to Reuters in response to questions, as part of broader efforts to streamline costs and operations.

ADM said workers at the facility, which will operate for another 90 days, were informed of the decision on July 15, a Sao Paulo-based press officer said.

"After exploring a wide range of alternatives, we have determined that our Tres Corações $(TCO)$ facility and related businesses and assets are no longer aligned with our future operational needs, the ADM statement said.

A source familiar with the matter said the company tried to sell the unit for about a year, with no buyers. ADM did not comment on the failed sale attempt, which was reported in the local press.

ADM in February said it would cut hundreds of jobs and reduce costs by $500 million to $750 million over the next three to five years, after posting its lowest fourth-quarter adjusted profit in six years.

In 2024, ADM's so-called nutrition division, the smallest of three business units, was at the center of an accounting investigation.

The company remains a major grain trader and processor in South America, with facilities for vegetable oil and biodiesel production.

Acquired by ADM in 2019, the Tres Coracoes plant had over 900 employees and annual production capacity of approximately 525,000 tons of pet food products, the company said.

ADM said it still operates one animal nutrition products factory in the country, located in Sao Paulo state.

(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by David Gregorio)

((ana.mano@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +55-11-5644-7704; Mob: +55-119-4470-4529; Reuters Messaging: ana.mano.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))