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Wyoming trona operator cuts 48 nonunion jobs after buying rival company – WyoFile

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Wyoming trona operator cuts 48 nonunion jobs after buying rival company – WyoFile


Soda ash giant WE Soda has cut 48 jobs from its southwest Wyoming trona operations, including 32 salaried management positions and 16 contract positions, the company said Monday. The move follows the trona operator’s purchase of competitor Genesis Alkali on Feb. 28.

“Post-acquisition, consolidations were needed for some salaried management positions to achieve efficiency, reduce redundancy and to strengthen the existing hourly workforce,” WE Soda Vice President of Human Relations JoAnna DeWald told WyoFile via email.

The layoffs do not include hourly union workers, a company spokesman said.

The terminations follow 30 layoffs by the previous owner late last year — a move that irked union representatives because Genesis Alkali pink-slipped several new hires, including some who had just relocated to Wyoming to build careers. Reached Monday by WyoFile, United Steel Workers Local 13214 President Marshal Cummings said he didn’t know all the details about the recent layoffs, but said he was happy the cuts did not include union workers.

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Western Green River, seen from a pedestrian overpass spanning a Union Pacific railyard on Sept. 9, 2021. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)

In fact, according to Cummings, WE Soda has been hiring back some of the union workers that were laid off last year. The union’s relationship with WE Soda, Cummings said, “has been extremely positive.

“They want to fix the things that are broken: management, projects, our relationship, the equipment,” he continued. “All those times I said, ‘We want to be the safest, most efficient, most productive mine in the world,’ is going to come true with this management team, it sounds like.”

WE Soda now employs about 900 workers in the region, according to Cummings.

The job cuts come only weeks after another southwest Wyoming mining company laid off 28 workers in nearby Kemmerer.

World’s largest soda ash producer

London-based WE Soda paid $1.4 billion to acquire Genesis Alkali and its operations, which include the Westvaco underground trona mine and related processing facilities, as well as the Granger solution mining facility — both located in western Sweetwater County.

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This sample of trona was extracted at a Wyoming site. (Trona sample, James St. John (Flickr/CC)

“We are now the largest producer of soda ash globally and the only producer that is 100% natural, further underscoring our sustainability leadership,” WE Soda CEO Alasdair Warren said in a prepared statement on March 3. “As we welcome our new Alkali colleagues into the WE Soda family, we will bring together an extraordinary combination of experience and expertise that will create a truly world class industrial minerals company focussed on maintaining the highest standards of safety, operational excellence and sustainability.”

Integrated into the former Genesis operations is WE Soda’s Project West, a multi-billion dollar trona solution-mine expansion project now under construction near Granger.

“By integrating the [Genesis] Alkali facilities with our own Project West development, we plan to utilise the combined engineering expertise of Alkali and WE Soda, and to access existing Alkali infrastructure to significantly reduce the cost and development risk of Project West,” according to WE Soda.

Southwest Wyoming holds the world’s largest known deposit of trona, which is processed into “natural” soda ash — a key commodity in the production of glass, baking soda and myriad other products. Wyoming’s trona and soda ash industries — which employ more than 2,000 workers compared to about 4,100 direct jobs in Wyoming coal mining, according to the Wyoming Mining Association — have been in “expansion” mode in recent years.

In 2022, Genesis Alkali received $665,000 from the state — via the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — to help train more than 300 workers as part of its efforts to revive the Granger production facility, ultimately adding about 100 workers, according to the state.

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Governor Gordon attends signing of Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver in Washington D.C.

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Governor Gordon attends signing of Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver in Washington D.C.


CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon’s office recently announced that the governor and Director of Family Services (DFS) Korin Schmidt traveled to Washington D.C. on Wednesday to meet with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as other Trump Administration officials, to sign the Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver. A release […]



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March 31 Deadline For Wyoming’s ‘Becoming An Outdoor Woman’ Workshops

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March 31 Deadline For Wyoming’s ‘Becoming An Outdoor Woman’ Workshops


Gaining the knowledge to become an outdoorsy type of person isn’t easy. It takes time, dedication, and the desire to sometimes get out of your comfort zone. Sure, if you grew up in the outdoors, but it’s been a while since you’ve actually been out hunting, fishing, hiking, or camping, you may be a little rusty, but you have a leg up on those who haven’t.

If you’re in Wyoming, there’s a good chance that taking advantage of the incredible outdoor activities we have available has crossed your mind, but where to start is the big question. Asking others for help is one way, but there’s sometimes an element of intimidation or embarrassment involved.

If you’re a woman looking for that help and want to avoid the intimidation, you should really check out the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) workshops this summer. It’s held at the Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp near Dubois, and everything you need to learn about the outdoors is provided, including food and lodging.

The registration deadline is March 31, meaning you have just a couple of weeks to apply for one or all of the offered workshops.

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There are multiple options available depending on your level of outdoor knowledge.

Basic BOW Workshop: Introductory level camp teaching outdoor survival, basic fly fishing, backpacking, how to shoot, outdoor photography, and more. There will be two of these workshops, June 5-7 and August 7-9. $150

Fly Fishing Beyond BOW Workshop: The focus here is on fly fishing. Learn the basics and then put them to use. This workshop runs July 30 – Aug 2. $150

Backpacking Beyond BOW: This workshop is all about backpacking, hiking, cooking on the trail, adjusting to the trail, and preparing for the trip. You’ll learn how to properly pack your bag, set up camp, and then head out on an overnight trip. July 30 – Aug 2. $150

Become a BOW Instructor: Here’s where you put your years of experience to work by sharing your skills and knowledge with others, helping them learn the tricks and tips of the outdoors.

Not only will these workshops help get you started on a life in the outdoors, but you’re likely going to gain some street cred with your family when you can teach them the skills they’ll need to get out and celebrate a Wyoming lifestyle.

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Snowpack In The South Laramie Range At Just Three Percent Of Normal Levels

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Snowpack In The South Laramie Range At Just Three Percent Of Normal Levels


The snowpack in the South Laramie Range in southeast Wyoming as of Monday was at three percent of normal, according to the Cheyenne Office of the National Weather Service.

And while other mountain ranges in southeast Wyoming were not nearly that low in snowpack, they were still well below normal at last report.

The agency posted the following on its website:

February was yet another warm and dry month, continuing the pattern that has dominated our area since last fall. Mountain snowpack remains well below average in southeast Wyoming, especially in the Laramie Range where snowpack is at an all time record low. For the plains, some light snow fell last month, but it was not enough to keep from increasing seasonal snowfall deficits. Cheyenne is off to its 4th least snowy start to the season since records began in the 1880s, and Scottsbluff has received the 2nd least snow since record began in the 1890s. We are now approximately two-thirds of the way through the snow accumulation season, with a little more than one-third to go in March, April, and into early May.

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But the good news is that after a wet 24 hours on Monday night/Tuesday, more snow may be headed our way on Friday.

Cheyenne, Laramie Forecasts

Cheyenne Forecast

Tonight

A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 11pm. Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 24. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday

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Sunny, with a high near 55. West wind around 10 mph.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday

A slight chance of rain showers after 11am, mixing with snow after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 59. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southeast in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

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Thursday Night

Rain and snow showers likely, becoming all snow after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Friday

Snow showers. High near 32. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Friday Night

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A chance of snow showers before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 44. Breezy.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Breezy.

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Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 35. Breezy.

Monday

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Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Breezy.

Monday Night

A slight chance of rain and snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Tuesday

A chance of rain and snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy.

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Laramie Forecast

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 20. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 48. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon.

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Wednesday Night

Increasing clouds, with a low around 27. South wind around 5 mph.

Thursday

A slight chance of rain and snow showers after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 52. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday Night

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Snow showers. Low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Friday

Snow showers. High near 31. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Friday Night

A chance of snow showers before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13.

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Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 39.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 25.

Sunday

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Sunny, with a high near 48. Breezy.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy.

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Monday Night

A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Tuesday

A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 50. Breezy.

2026 WHSAA Wyoming State Wrestling Championship

Gallery Credit: Kolby Fedore, TSM

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