PCS Lays Off 85 Workers | Eastern North Carolina Now

    In an effort to contain costs, and remain economically viable, in the fluid phosphate ore market that is worldwide, and truly in a state of economic flux, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan is giving the 'pink slip' to about 1000 employees spread across their entire corporate footprint. The local damage to our Beaufort County economy, and to the affected families of those being relieved of their duties at the Aurora mine and processing facility will be about 85 jobs.

    Local Public Relations Director Ray McKethan discussed the work force reduction in these terms: "First, our thoughts and prayers go out to those employees affected, especially at this time of the year. It is always sad when people are losing their jobs, but the decision was made to allow us to continue to compete in an ever challenging market."

    As some locals are sure to know, if by virtue of working for PCS Phosphate or owning their stock, the phosphate ore market has been turned on it's head by the competitive pricing construct, now in place, due to the competitive cost structures associated with new mine facilities being brought online by a competition that does not suffer from the rigors on U.S. environmental regulations. A case in point, but not associated directly with the events of the day, is Obama's activist EPA that rushed to shutdown PCS's new ground permitted to mine shortly after his presidential election, when they had earlier worked diligently to acquire those hard won permits through the legislated regulatory process.

    The eventual outcome was a political solution, where Beaufort County's Commissioners, our more conservative state representatives, and Beaufort County's more conservative congressional representatives interceded to counter this political position of the activist EPA, and their Democrat enablers, i.e. Mr. Obama. This successful endeavor held the ultra liberal politics of the EPA bureaucrats at bay, keeping them from destroying this integral Beaufort County industry as that activist EPA has now destroyed much of the coal industry in West Virginia.

    As one can understand, there is indeed a huge cost associated with these ultra-liberal Democrat politics of activism over the rule of law in regards to regulatory authority. In competing nations of northern Africa, there is little rule of law, and even less regulations, so it doesn't help corporations like PCS Phosphate to make future decisions, with knowledge that there are countless fanatical bureaucrats in the EPA enabled and left unsupervised by the ruling Democrats in Washington, DC will always be a factor in PCS's corporate decisions. That is the way business works.

    These 85 Beaufort County jobs lost are, in part, the product of bad Federal bureaucratic policy trumping the rule of law, and always in these issues, there will be intended or unintended consequences left in the wake of such overt activism.

    We will keep you further informed as information is presented.