Layoffs weeks out at nation's biggest platinum and palladium operations

This month hundreds of people in south central Montana will lose their jobs at the country's biggest producer of platinum and palladium.

Layoffs at Sibanye Stillwater's mines in Stillwater and Sweet Grass Counties are set to begin on November 12.

Two weeks ahead of the layoffs, United Steelworkers local president Daniel Beluscak says they're still working out who will stay and who will go.

"It just sucks. Right? That's really all there is to it," Beluscak said.

Sibanye Stillwater announced on September 12 that it would let go of roughly 700 people in mid-November, citing a poor palladium market and competition from Russia.

Sibanye Stillwater Vice President of Legal and External Affairs Heather McDowell said the official number of layoffs dropped a bit between then and now. The union and company reached an agreement to redefine some existing positions and retain employees.

"So, about 50 folks who were otherwise slated for layoff will be able to stay in these new job classifications that we've created as a result of working with the United Steelworkers," McDowell said.

Union president Daniel Beluscak said about 100 employees have opted into voluntary severance.

"Now, some of those people are retirement age or ready to retire. Some of them just want a change in atmosphere. Those people are still being laid off," he said. "I don't think they would have chosen to do so if not for these circumstances."

While Beluscak says they now know more about the company's plans, uncertainty remains in the days before layoffs are scheduled to begin.