Strike by Potash Workers at ICL Ends

A nearly four-month strike that crippled potash production at Israel Chemicals (ICL) has ended with agreement on an efficiency scheme said to involve fewer layoffs than originally planned and a more generous compensation for those leaving the company.

Workers had walked out of ICL's Dead Sea bromine unit on Feb. 3 and were subsequently joined by employees of the potash plant in protest over a plan to cut at least 280 of 2,150 jobs at the two facilities.

ICL, which has exclusive permits to extract minerals from the Dead Sea, is the world's sixth-largest potash producer as well as a manufacturer of specialty chemicals. It is also one of the three largest suppliers of the crop nutrient potash to China, India and Europe.