PotashCorp said last week that its White Springs Agricultural Chemicals Inc. phosphate facility in White Springs, Fla., is reducing staffing levels by 168 full-time positions, or approximately 20 percent of its current workforce. In addition, PotashCorp is giving layoff notices to some 700 workers at its Lanigan and Rocanville, Sask., potash mines.
PotashCorp cites excess global supply and significantly reduced phosphate margins following the global economic downturn. It said White Springs has already been operating at rates that match market conditions and is not able to support current staffing levels. The facility has run at low rates over the last year, and the company said this announcement acknowledges that it intends to operate at reduced rates for the foreseeable future.
PotashCorp will offer separation incentives to the salaried employees and will immediately begin discussions with the union leadership regarding separation incentives for hourly employees.
“This is a difficult time for the White Springs’ team,” said Keith Thornton, White Springs’ general manager. “The company has made every effort to avoid taking this action; however, market conditions dictate we make these changes. Many excellent employees are being affected by this decision, and we will work to help them make a successful transition.”
PotashCorp also confirmed that all 400 hourly employees at the Lanigan mine have received layoff notices to take effect Nov. 29-Feb. 27. About half of these employees had just returned to work Sept. 26 after a ten-week layoff.
Some 300 hourly workers at the Rocanville mine will also receive layoff notices. Their shutdown period is from Nov. 8-Jan. 2.
Bill Johnson, a PotashCorp spokesman, said that while the notices were issued, the actual number of employees that will be off the job will not be determined until closer to the shutdown dates. Regardless, the mines are not expected to produce potash during the spans listed.
Johnson did not have an approximate amount of production to be lost during the period from the respective mines. PotashCorp 2008 production was 2.14 million mt at Lanigan and 2.8 million mt at Rocanville. Based on these figures, a three-month outage at Lanigan would be 535,000 mt, and a two-month outage at Rocanville 466,666 mt.
PotashCorp potash production was down 73 percent in the second quarter ending June 30, 2009, from the year-ago quarter. Potash sales were off 85.5 percent.
In September, the company announced revised earnings guidance of $3.25-$3.75 per share for full-year 2009, shifting from a range of $4.00-$5.00 per share provided in July 2009 (GM Sept. 28). It said the change primarily reflects lower-than-forecasted potash sales volumes due to continued slow demand and limited restocking by fertilizer distributors around the world. It said that in the past 12 months, nearly 20 million mt of potash production has been curtailed by global producers.