It is news that workers at three Nutrien potash mines did not want to hear.

The company has announced it will be shutting down its Allan, Lanigan and Vanscoy mines for eight weeks meaning workers at the three facilities will be laid off in November.

Nutrien says the move is being done in response to a short-term slowdown in global potash markets and if all three were idled for the full 8 weeks, potash production could be reduced by approximately 700-thousand tonnes.

In a release, the company says despite the current short-term market conditions, they remain positive on potash demand for 2020, as well as the medium to long-term potash fundamentals.

Nutrien, created by the merger of Potash Corp. and Agrium Inc., calls itself the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, producing 27 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate