Potash Greed Follow-up

Just to follow up on my earlier blog about the greed in the potash industry, Canadian Press reports that the “Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan said Thursday an ongoing demand for fertilizer helped triple its full-year earnings and pushed fourth-quarter profits to twice year-earlier levels.

The Saskatoon-based company recorded earnings of $3.5-billion or $11.01 per share for fiscal 2008, more than three times higher than 2007 profits of $1.1-billion or $3.40 per share.”
It is worth noting that PCS, a month ago gave layoff notice to 940 employees who expect to be off work for eight weeks or so. Mosaic, the other big Potash player in Saskatchewan you will remember, did the same.

Whatever happened to the time where employees were valued and kept on during slow periods as a reward for their role in making their employers so profitable? Many in Saskatchewan are asking is there really a real need for a slowdown at all or, is the industry just reducing supply to keep prices high?

At a time when we are all digging in for the global economic slowdown which seems to have been caused by corporate greed, mismanagement and downright dishonesty it is important to take a look at how our corporate citizens do business.

I for one am amazed that Premier Brad Wall, always so quick to criticize Labour, has had nothing to say about these corporate gymnastics. What is that saying? “He who pays the piper...” oh, never mind.