Mosaic Company to Idle Louisiana Fertilizer Plants, Laying Off 206 Workers Amid Global Supply Crisis
ST. JAMES PARISH, La. — The Mosaic Company, a global leader in crop nutrient production, announced this week that it will idle fertilizer production at two of its facilities in St. James Parish, resulting in the layoffs of 206 employees. The decision comes as the company grapples with an unprecedented spike in the cost of sulfur, a critical raw material for phosphate fertilizer, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
According to documents filed with Louisiana Works, the workforce reductions at the Uncle Sam plant in Convent and the Faustina plant in St. James are scheduled to be completed by October 30. While production of phosphate fertilizer will cease at these locations, the company noted that ammonia production at the Faustina plant will remain unaffected.
The move is part of a broader corporate strategy to navigate volatile market conditions, with Mosaic confirming that it is also scaling back production at its Florida plants and its operations in Brazil.
The Geopolitical Trigger
The rapid increase in input costs has sent shockwaves through the agricultural supply chain. According to farmdoc daily, a research publication from the University of Illinois, sulfur prices have surged from $400 per ton at the end of 2025 to over $1,000 per ton in recent months.
Analysts point to the ongoing war with Iran as a primary driver of this volatility, citing shipping disruptions that have hampered access to the Middle East, a region responsible for more than 16% of global sulfur production—largely originating from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Compounding the supply crunch are policy shifts in other major exporting nations. China, which controls nearly 23% of the global sulfur supply, and Russia, which produces roughly 9%, have both significantly curtailed exports to prioritize the needs of their own domestic farming sectors. This double-edged sword of regional instability and protectionist trade policies has created a perfect storm for manufacturers like Mosaic.
Impact on the Local Economy
The layoffs deal a significant blow to the regional economy in St. James Parish, where Mosaic serves as a primary industrial anchor. Records from the parish assessor’s office indicate that in 2025, the two affected plants employed 369 people, making the company the fourth-largest employer in the parish.
In an official statement, the company expressed a commitment to its workforce and infrastructure, noting that it “remains focused on the safe management of its facilities and assets while pursuing opportunities to resume full operations as market conditions improve.”
As of now, the company has not provided a timeline for when production might resume, leaving workers and local officials to monitor both the global commodity markets and the evolving situation in the Middle East for signs of stabilization.
