TheMontanaMan (@themontanaman)

The emotional losses are one thing, but the loss in production is another. Heather McDowell, a spokeswoman for the mine, said it’s sad to see fewer workers and fewer extractions. “It is really sad to look at the west side and just see it empty,” McDowell said. “It really wouldn’t look any different to an external eye, but definitely to folks there, it’s a lesser operation than it was.” While the changes might not be noticeable to outsiders, the loss is evident to those still working there. “We were forced to reduce about 440 employees,” McDowell said. “Also, we had about 80 who took voluntary severances and then we did have about 120 employees who left through attrition.” The changeover has been devastating, though McDowell remains hopeful. The layoffs were made in large part because of a significant decrease in the price of palladium, which is one of the mine’s main exports. https://www.kpax.com/news/montana-news/life-goes-on-at-stillwater-mine-following-layoffs