UPDATE 2-Potash Corp shuts Canadian mine, sees weak market continuing

(Recasts with CEO interview; adds stock price)
By Nicole Mordant and Swetha Gopinath
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Weak conditions in the potash market will
not improve any time soon, the chief executive of Potash Corp of
Saskatchewan POT.TO said on Tuesday as the crop nutrient
company announced it would suspend operations "indefinitely" at
a Canadian mine.
Potash Corp said it was putting its Picadilly mine in the
Canadian province of New Brunswick on care and maintenance,
resulting in the loss of 420 to 430 jobs.
Potash prices have fallen sharply over the past year, under
pressure from bloated capacity, soft grain prices and weak
currencies in major consumers such as India and Brazil, one of
Potash Corp's largest customers.
"We don't see in the short term how things will turn around
quickly that would change the environment," Chief Executive
Jochen Tilk said in an interview.
"We are repositioning the company in light of that but we
are still optimistic on the long term prospects for our
business," he said.
Potash Corp's stock was 60 Canadian cents firmer at C$23.63
on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The stock is down 45
percent in the past 12 months.
As demand for potash has fallen worldwide, Potash Corp, the
world's biggest fertilizer company by capacity, has in recent
months closed its Penobsquis potash mine in New Brunswick and
suspended production at three mines in Saskatchewan.
Potash Corp, which had more than 5,000 employees worldwide
at the end of 2014, said it would retain 35 employees at
Picadilly to keep the operation in "care-and-maintenance" mode.
About 100 affected employees could be relocated to Saskatchewan.
Potash Corp said it expected to recognize severance and
transition costs of about $35 million in the first quarter as a
result of suspending operations at Picadilly.
The suspension would help Potash Corp to reduce its
full-year cost of goods sold by $40 million to $50 million and
would eliminate capital expenditures of about $50 million in
2016 and $135 million in 2017-2018, the company said.