NEWS
On November 3, Wyoming families went to the polls to make decisions about their future. The next morning, hundreds learned that a decision affecting their livelihoods had already been made. WE Soda announced plans to eliminate approximately 350 Wyoming jobs.
Behind that number are paychecks that cover groceries, house payments, and the ordinary expenses of raising a family. For workers facing the cuts, finding another job may be only part of the challenge. Finding one with comparable wages and benefits, close enough to keep living in the same community, is another.
The uncertainty reaches beyond Sweetwater County. Neighboring Uinta and Lincoln counties share in southwest Wyoming’s industrial economy. When families cut spending or leave for work elsewhere, local businesses and communities feel the loss too. In Lincoln County, families were already confronting the prospect of losing another longtime employer: the Kemmerer coal mine.
Those families deserve help. They also deserve an explanation of the timing. Why was a decision this consequential announced the morning after an election?
WE Soda’s economic pressures had been building for months; growth plans had changed. Wyoming was considering nearly $13 million in public funding for the company. Meanwhile, candidates were asking voters to trust their leadership.
November 4 tells us when the public announcement came. It does not tell us when the job cuts were approved—or who knew before voting ended. ho knew before the election
Governor Mark Gordon said November 4 that he had learned of the decision “a day or so ago.” Clearly, Governor Gordon knew about the planned job cuts prior to the 2026 General Election held Tuesday Nov 3.
Sweetwater County Commission Chairman Keaton West said Craig Rood, WE Soda’s public-relations and government-affairs representative, called him around 8:30 that morning. West said it was his first notice that the company was considering layoffs. Rood’s role connects the company to the governor’s race. Eric Barlow’s own campaign announcement names both Craig and Rebecca Rood in its statewide leadership team. Barlow won November 3. WE Soda announced the cuts November 4.
The same company representative delivering the news to county leadership was a member of the incoming governor’s campaign team. Had the announcement come earlier, Barlow could have faced questions about a major employer represented within his campaign leadership—and what he knew about its plans.
Locally, Rock Springs Mayor Max Mickelson and County Commissioners Island Richards and Keaton West were seeking reelection. News of hundreds of impending job losses could have mattered to residents judging the region’s economic leadership. Whether it would have changed votes is unknown. The company’s public announcement came after voting ended.
The stakes extended into Uinta County, where mining households in Bridger Valley communities such as Lyman and Mountain View also depend on the region’s jobs. Its November 3 ballot asked voters to approve a one-cent sales and use tax to raise $13 million for fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency equipment—a separate measure from statewide Proposition 1.
Had the layoffs been announced a week earlier, would uncertainty over paychecks have changed how residents weighed that local tax, the governor’s race, or Proposition 1’s proposed residential property-tax exemption? It's hard to say. But those decisions were made before WE Soda publicly disclosed the coming job cuts.
Gordon and Governor-elect Barlow issued a joint statement November 4 expressing concern for workers and their families. They said agencies and Western Wyoming Community College were already coordinating with WE Soda and described efforts involving federal officials, producers, and other partners. Their statement did not disclose when Barlow first learned of the cuts or when those discussions began.
That leaves a straightforward question: Did Rood discuss the impending cuts with Barlow or anyone acting for his campaign before Election Day?
The warnings came months earlier
In May, WE Soda reported production difficulties, deliberate reductions in some units, and postponed growth spending. In August, it said earlier disruption had been resolved while continuing to emphasize cost controls. By September 29, WyoFile was reporting Chief Executive Officer Alasdair Warren’s concerns about loss-making Wyoming exports and delayed expansion amid Chinese competition.
For communities preparing for new jobs, Project West had represented a different future. Sweetwater County records from February 2024 described a proposed $2.5 billion development, 309 permanent operating jobs, and commercial operations anticipated in January 2027.
Sweetwater, Lincoln, and Uinta counties and their municipalities discussed industrial siting impact assistance tied to that development. County records described approximately $25 million in potential assistance. These were expectations communities were planning around.
Then the timetable moved. In March 2026, regulators approved extending Project West’s construction-start deadline to July 2027. After acquiring Genesis Alkali, WE Soda also described Project West as an extension of existing operations rather than a separate development. Those changes did not announce the November layoffs. They showed that the company’s plans—and the growth communities expected—were already shifting.
Public money and unanswered questions
On October 7, a Wyoming Energy Dominance Fund committee recommended $12,925,000 for WE Soda’s Westvaco Natural Gas Upgrade Project. WEA announced the recommendation October 15, opening public comment through November 16. It remains a recommendation subject to further review and a final decision by Gordon.
The project would supply gas to Westvaco’s boilers. Its public summary anticipates depletion of economical local coal by the end of 2027 and describes continued operations and potential expansion benefits, including employment. But did reviewers have the restructuring plans when they evaluated those benefits?
On October 23, WyoFile reported that Kemmerer Operations was planning to close its coal mine at the end of 2029. About 153 people worked there; management reported no immediate layoffs and hoped circumstances might change. Naughton power plant had already stopped buying its coal. Trona producers remained customers, and the same report identified WE Soda’s proposed gas connection as a response to the threatened supply.
The dates need to be explained. WE Soda’s economical-coal forecast ends in 2027; Kemmerer’s planned closure is in 2029. The reporting does not establish when deliveries to Westvaco would stop, how reclamation would affect employment, or whether the gas project would proceed without state funding.
For Lincoln County families, this is another threat to paychecks and the businesses those paychecks support. The fuel transition was public before the election. The WE Soda job cuts were announced afterward. That does not prove a deliberate delay, but it makes the decision's timeline—and what state reviewers knew—more important.
The November 4 announcement calls for Wyoming staffing to fall from more than 850 positions to approximately 500, with reductions beginning in early 2027 and continuing through 2028 as Westvaco moves toward solution mining. Planning a transition of that size takes preparation.
The available evidence does not establish that WE Soda deliberately held the announcement to protect candidates, or that Barlow received advance notice. But longstanding economic warnings, Gordon’s reported notification, and Rood’s campaign role make the timing a legitimate subject for scrutiny.
When was the plan approved? Who chose November 4? Who was told before the election? Before the state commits nearly $13 million, have the promised benefits been updated to reflect the job cuts?
For families now weighing their next steps, those are questions about decisions that could determine whether they can afford to stay in the communities they helped build.
How to comment on the proposed funding
Comments on the Westvaco Natural Gas Upgrade Project may be emailed to wea@wyo.gov through November 16, 2026. Ask WEA for updated employment and production figures before a final funding decision.
Sources and editorial notes
Source notes • November 6, 2026. Decision and notification dates remain unresolved.
SweetwaterNOW, November 4, leaders’ reactions. Gordon’s reported wording is “a day or so ago”; the exact notification time remains unestablished. Source
Election reporting identifying Mickelson, West, and Richards as candidates for reelection. Source
WE Soda, November 4 restructuring release; also supplied as two screenshots. Source
WE Soda, first-quarter and first-half 2026 results. Source 1Source 2
WyoFile, September 29, Chinese competition and Wyoming soda ash economics. Source
DEQ Project West extension notice and WE Soda growth strategy. Source 1Source 2
Wyoming Energy Authority, October 15 recommendation and public-comment announcement. Source
Westvaco Natural Gas Upgrade public summary; award recommendation from WEA. Source
Barlow campaign announcement naming Craig and Rebecca Rood to the statewide leadership team. Source