Mosaic to idle South Fort Meade phosphate site Dec. 8, laying off 199 workers

Mosaic plans to idle its South Fort Meade phosphate operation in southern Polk County on Dec. 8 and lay off 199 workers, according to a federally required layoff notice the company filed with Florida's Department of Commerce, local media report.

The company blames a global shortage and high cost of sulfur, a key ingredient in phosphate fertilizer. Mosaic expects the shutdown to last more than six months and has not set a date to reopen.

What the notice says

The letter, dated Oct. 5, falls under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which treats this cut as a mass layoff and requires 60 days' notice. Local media report that the notice period runs to Dec. 8, the scheduled separation date.

Ron Yasurek, Mosaic's vice president of phosphate operations for North America, wrote in the notice that the company had already curtailed production across its global phosphate operations over the past several months before deciding to idle South Fort Meade. He wrote that, as of now, the company believes the idle will exceed six months.

Not everyone will leave. A core group of employees will stay to handle care, maintenance, safety and environmental compliance so the site can restart when conditions allow, according to the filing.

Which jobs, and who might keep working

Mosaic said it could not yet determine which specific positions will be cut, so the 199 figure does not yet tell individual workers whether they are affected.

Hourly workers at the site are represented by the Chemical Workers Union Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 814C, based in Bowling Green. Their labor contract includes bumping rights, meaning some displaced hourly workers may be able to move into another position. How many will actually do so is not yet known.

According to the notice, union president Joshua Goodwyn was notified on behalf of the bargaining unit. Local media were unable to reach union leaders for comment on Oct. 15.

Why sulfur matters here

The war in Iran has disrupted Persian Gulf sulfur shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, where about half of seaborne sulfur passes, local media report. Seckin Ozkul, a supply chain management professor at the University of South Florida, put the share of the world's sulfur moving through the strait at 40 to 45 percent a year.

The shortage has led to layoffs across Mosaic's U.S. and international facilities, not just in Polk. Ozkul said that if the disruption continues long term, it could affect farmers unless they can find other suppliers.

What happens at the site

South Fort Meade is a phosphate mine with a plant that separates the mined rock, according to company spokesperson Jackie Barron. The processed rock is shipped by rail to Mosaic fertilizer plants elsewhere, where finished fertilizer is made.

The facility is on Manley Road at the southern edge of Polk County, though the full operation straddles State Road 664 along the Polk-Hardee county line.

What comes next

Mosaic says the idle is meant to be temporary and that it will restart as soon as it can do so safely, reliably and sustainably, while continuing to look for sulfur supply options. State and local leaders are expected to work with the company to connect affected workers with employment resources, local media report. Hourly employees with questions about bumping rights can raise them with their union local, which holds the contract.