Demand for road and safety salt drops | Windsor Star

An unseasonably warm winter resulted in Windsor Salt laying off 150 workers on Tuesday due to a lack of demand for products produced from its Windsor mining operations.

Windsor Salt announced that the layoffs are indefinite and the firm will monitor market conditions to determine when to resume production. The company, owned by Los Angeles-based Stone Canyon Industries, plans to retain 18 clerical employees.

In a public statement, a spokesperson for the company said it was idling its Ojibway mine due to the mild weather this winter leading to a softening demand for road salt and safety salt bags. The mine also produces agricultural salt for animal seed.

The Ojibway mine is one of two locations operated by Windsor Salt locally since 1893. Canada’s largest producer of salt also produces finer salt for consumption.

The company said Windsor’s evaporative salt plant is not affected by the layoffs.

Between the two sites, there are about 250 employees at the west-end Windsor operation.

The layoffs come only seven months after the company and Unifor Locals 1959 and 240 settled a 192-day strike last August. Union officials were not immediately available for comment.