Nutrien has announced plans to rebalance its Potash operations.

According to the company website today the Vanscoy facility will see a reduction of approximately 30 staff and 50 hourly positions.

Susan Jones, the President of Nutrien Potash released a statement on the company website.

“This is a difficult day for our employees and their families, adding they are committed to easing the transition for our impacted employees. The changes will position Vanscoy to operate more efficiently within Nutrien’s entire potash network and ensure we can competitively serve our customers on a long-term basis."

She says “We have provided opportunities for Vanscoy employees to transition to other roles since the beginning of 2018 as we rebalance our network and expect to increase staffing levels at other Saskatchewan mines going forward.”

Nutrien is offering severance packages, assistance, transition programs and information on existing openings for affected employees.

This is the second layoff this year at the Vanscoy facility.   Back in April Nutrien laid off 470 workers at Vanscoy and 140 at their Allan mine as a way to reduce production and manage inventory levels, that lay off only lasted about a week.

The company expects to have between 50 to 70 vacancies at other Saskatchewan potash mines over the remainder of 2018 and will continue to provide opportunities for Vanscoy employees to transition to other roles within Nutrien.

Nutrien operates six mines in Saskatchewan, Vanscoy, Allan, Cory, Lanigan, Patience Lake and Rocanville.