The producer announced the layoffs at the operation in Myra, blaming the struggling economy and Environmental Protection Agency regulations, according to local news stations WYMT and WSAZ.

All 32 are surface miners. No administrative staff will be cut.

“Any layoffs that you have effects employees' families, their livelihoods,” personnel director Paul Matney said.

“We all chase the American dream of working hard and providing our families with a good life, and it's very difficult when you know that every reduction you have affects a family.”

Teco told the outlets it hoped the furlough would be temporary, though that could not be confirmed.

Pike County judge executive Wayne Rutherford told WYMT that, like Teco officials, the region hoped all miners could come back to their jobs soon.

“The world needs our coal,” he said.

“The export market is going to be there. The question is whether this administration and the EPA in Washington is going to let us mine the coal.”

The Premier Elkhorn complex includes both surface and underground operations and a train loadout. Total combined mining capacity is 5 million tons annually.