A spokesperson for OhioAmerican parent company Murray Energy said Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act announcements were given to the mine’s employees, a move required by federal law when all or part of a workforce is expected to be laid off for more than six months after a 60-day period.
The spokesperson told ILN that no one had yet been laid off; further, despite reports that 115 workers would be without a job in the coming months, no decisions had been made on the total number of affected miners.
“Employees at OhioAmerican were told by management [last] Monday morning that only some, and definitely not all, employees at the Redbird West mine will be laid off,” the operator said.
“There is a reduced demand for coal as a result of a decrease in the demand for electricity due to the economic recession.”
Officials will now convene with Redbird West employees on November 11, at which time they’ll announce the status of the mine as well as the future working arrangements.
“No lay-offs will be made before November 14, 2009,” the company noted.
Both highwall and surface mining is conducted at the Jefferson County complex, which has 210 employees and produces approximately 2 million tons annually. The operation has been extracting coal from the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam since opening in late 2007.
Murray Energy also pointed to the recession when it announced earlier this year the lay-offs of 37 workers at its Illinois mines, including New Era and New Future.
The mines, it told ILN at the time, were affected by the “depressed American economy” that had significantly reduced demand for its coal, thereby forcing the lay-offs of hourly staff. A majority of those were offered positions with its KenAmerican subsidiary, which operates the Paradise mine in Kentucky.
In addition to Redbird West, Paradise, New Era and New Future, Murray Energy operates the West Ridge operation in Utah, the Ohio Valley No. 6 and Century longwall operations in southeast Ohio.
