Nutrien to move two top executives to its Saskatoon headquarters

Nutrien will be moving a couple of top executives to Saskatoon, but president and CEO Chuck Magro said he won't be one of them.

Magro was in the city Thursday to speak at a Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Nutrien is the result of a merger between PotashCorp and Agrium Inc. The merger was annnounced in 2016 and became official in January 2018.

The province has legislation stating that PotashCorp or its successor must maintain a head office in the province.

That legislation came about when PotashCorp was privatized in the 1980s. 

Nutrien committed to keeping the corporate headquarters in Saskatoon, but right now only one executive vice-president who reports directly to Magro — Susan Jones, president of potash operations — works in Saskatoon. 

Magro says two more executive vice-presidents will soon move to Saskatoon.

"My expectation is that we'll be at that level by the end of the year as our organization settles after a very complex merger," he said.

Magro says he is staying in Calgary because he has children in high school and wants them to be able to finish their schooling there.

Saskatchewan's Minister of Justice and Attorney General Don Morgan said the government is continuing to talk with Nutrien about bringing top positions to Saskatoon.

Premier Scott Moe has called the move a good first step.

"We certainly don't regard this as over or something that has concluded," Morgan said. "As the premier indicated this was a significant first step and we will watch what happens over the next few months."

He said Nutrien has been open and transparent with the government and is a major employer and taxpayer.

"[But] we are also very aware that this is a corporation that uses potash that is in the ground that is owned by all of the citizens of this province," he said.

"They also have both a legal and a moral obligation to the province of Saskatchewan, and we want to make sure that we stick up for the people of Saskatchewan and that Nutrien does right by the people of this province."

Magro said the merger has already been good for Saskatchewan.

He said the company has added an extra $750 million to the provincial economy in the past year and increased office staff in the city by 30 per cent.

They have also made a $15-million, 15-year commitment with the new Nutrien Tower that is being constructed at River Landing.

Magro did not disclose which two executives would be moving to Saskatoon and he was not made available to the media after his speech.