TECO personnel director Paul Matney told local news station WKYT that no mines would shut down but smaller layoffs were being made across its operations in Pike and Perry counties.

All of the mines’ production and payrolls are affected, he added, from production workers to administration and even support team members.

About two-thirds of those furloughed will be operations staff.

The producer cited the state of the market for the decision.

“The market for coal has been weak both for thermal or steam coal and also in the weakness in the metallurgical coal market," Matney said.

“We have people that have been part of our TECO Coal family 20 some years and you cannot work with people 20 years and it not be really terrible.”

He told the station he hoped the tough decision would be a temporary situation.

“We know them, we know their family and we know that this affects their family but at some point you have to make a decision to do what's right for the business," he said.

TECO laid off about 100 workers in Perry County in January but the company said about half those workers had since been called back.

TECO Coal is a division of Florida-based TECO Energy.