Nutrien is cutting positions from its corporate office in Saskatoon.

The newly formed fertilizer giant, created in early January following the merger of Agrium and Potash Corp., recently issued eight “immediate” layoff notices and expects to let go another 25 employees from the Saskatoon office by the end of the year, according to Richard Downey, the company’s vice-president of investor relations.

The cuts eliminate duplicate positions as part of the merger process, Downey said.

He noted, however, the company plans to increase the number of corporate jobs in Saskatchewan by the end of the year. The company is expecting to move about 100 corporate positions to Saskatoon and the province from elsewhere — Alberta and the U.S., for example.