The mine has not shipped coal since earlier this month.
The affected workers were laid off Friday, leaving a staff of 75 still working at the highwall and surface complex. Owner Robert Murray told workers the decision was “unavoidable” due to US governmental policies and that he was disappointed by the necessity of the move.
"Even though the administration claims that jobs are being created, low demand for electricity shows these claims are nothing more than a contrived political myth. Jobs are not being created,” he said.
“In fact, the exact opposite is true – unemployment is going up, and it will continue to go up as long as government keeps creating policies that harm our businesses, economy, workers and our families. What the government is doing is very scary and this is evidenced by our 16 per cent real unemployment rate and the reluctance of entrepreneurs to hire workers today.”
Murray said local and state regulatory representatives following the directives of those in Washington, rather than supporting the jobs and interests of voters, wasn’t helping matters.
"In view of their policies and votes, it is becoming virtually impossible to create and maintain a job in America today – these politicians do not understand this, because most of these Democrats never created a job for anyone in their lives.
"Furthermore, many Republicans today are supporting federal anti-job policies,” he said, adding that those individuals should be thrown out while local representatives needed to re-examine what was happening to the region.
Murray Energy noted it had created 3250 primary jobs and 33,000 secondary jobs in the last 22 years, including more than 1300 in the eastern Ohio region where Redbird is located along with the Century and Ohio Valley longwalls.
Murray said he feared for the cap and tax proposal – also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill – that could cost the US another 1 million jobs and $US2 trillion dollars in the next eight years, beginning in 2012.
He said the bill had no environmental benefit and was “insanity”
"Redbird West has not shipped a pound of coal since November 5, 2009, because of the destruction that is going on in the nation's economy and job markets," he said.
"Further, our customer for OhioAmerican Energy has cut their coal order from 1.9 million tons in 2009 to only 1 million tons next year. Without a market for our product, we simply cannot employ these very good people and have to lay them off – it is a terrible situation.”
A MEC spokesperson told ILN in September that it had issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act announcements 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, but did not know then how many workers would be affected.
A follow-up meeting was scheduled at that time for November 11, and officials for the operator promised no moves would be made until then.
Redbird West, which opened in late 2007, produces approximately 2Mt annually from the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam.
