WE Soda, the world's largest producer of natural soda ash, confirmed this week that it’s downsizing 26 positions following a $1.43 billion acquisition of Genesis Alkali's two Wyoming mines.
The company and a union spokesperson remained upbeat about the move, but also recognized it’s a blow for those impacted employees.
“We would never celebrate anyone walking out that door,” said Marshal Cummings, union president for United Steelworkers Local 13214. “And a lot of them are friends.”
Cummings said the downsized staffers were nonunion and on “the managerial side” of operations, so the move spares the 650 union members he represents. The reduction affects less than 3% of the overall workforce at the Green River operations.
The company said while these actions are difficult, they are essential to reorganizing a stronger, more resilient facility.
"Our top focus is increasing the capacity of the mine for overall stability far into the future. That entails internal, structural reorganization for efficiencies," said JoAnna Dewald, VP of environment, health, safety and human resources at WE Soda.
"I've been saying for over a year now since we started negotiating, that we're going to be the safest, most productive, most efficient mine in the world. I have no doubt that we're headed down that path," added Cummings.
About 30 union members were temporarily laid off in December 2024, he said, but many of those workers have returned or found other opportunities.
“We’re working together trying to set new records and goals,” said Cummings. "Happy bees make a lot of honey. The WE Soda team is proving that that is true.”
Wyoming Investment
WE Soda completed its acquisition of Genesis Alkali in February, creating the world's largest natural soda ash producer with about 9.5 million metric tons of annual production capacity. The acquisition brought together Genesis Alkali's Wyoming operations with WE Soda's existing global network.
The soda ash produced at the Wyoming facilities serves as a key ingredient in manufacturing glass, detergents, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and various household goods. WE Soda's products reach customers in more than 80 countries through the company's global logistics network.
According to the company's recent financial reports, WE Soda maintained strong operations throughout 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025.
For the full year 2024, WE Soda reported sales volumes of 5.1 million metric tons, a 3% increase from the previous year.
The company delivered overall earnings of $502 million, or $99.4 per metric ton, despite what the company characterized as "trough" market conditions due to weak global demand and competitive pricing pressures.
"We made significant progress in 2024 despite a challenging market backdrop, growing our production, improving our margins quarter by quarter, strengthening our balance sheet and setting the foundations for our acquisition of Alkali," said Alasdair Warren, chief executive officer of WE Soda, in the company's annual results announcement.
The company's financial resilience continued into the first quarter of 2025, with WE Soda reporting overall earnings of $126 million on sales of 1.19 million metric tons. Despite a slight decrease in sales volume compared to the same period in 2024, the company said it improved its profit margins and maintained strong cash flow generation.
WE Soda projects that combining the businesses will deliver an incremental $1 billion of free cash flow over the next five years while growing production to over 11 million metric tons per year by 2030, according to statements by the London-based company.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
