Alpha Natural Resources Laying off 1,100 Coal Miners in West Virginia

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Alpha Planning to Lay Off 1,100 Coal Miners in W.Va.

Economy 12:31 am Fri August 1, 2014

By Associated Press

One of the nation's largest coal producers said Thursday it expects to lay off 1,100 workers at 11 southern West Virginia surface coal mines by mid-October, citing dismal markets and federal regulation. ... The announcement by Alpha Natural Resources dealt another blow to Appalachia's iconic, but dwindling, fossil fuel industry. The company said 2015 industry forecasts show Central Appalachian coal production will be less than half of its 2009 output.

It's due to a combination of familiar factors, Alpha said: competition from cheaper natural gas, weak domestic and international markets and low coal prices. Prices of coal sent to Europe for power are at a four-year low, and prices for steel-producing coal have dipped more than 20 percent in less than a year, Alpha said.
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Alpha also laid some blame on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is pushing to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, part of President Barack Obama's plan to stem global warming. The plan has sparked outrage in coal-producing states, and has driven the political conversation in a heated election year.
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The mines are in Logan, Mingo, Boone, Raleigh, Kanawha and Fayette counties.

Also see:

1,100 Alpha miners in W.Va. warned of layoffs

Thursday, July 31, 2014

By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer

Alpha Natural Resources said Thursday afternoon that it has warned 1,100 workers at nearly a dozen West Virginia surface coal mines that they could lose their jobs in two months.

The Bristol, Va.-based company said it had provided layoff notices — required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act — to the employees at 11 mines and associated preparation facilities and support operations in six counties.

Alpha cited “sustained weak market conditions and government regulations that have challenged the entire Central Appalachian mining industry” and a “business environment that’s undergone an enormous and fundamental transformation.” ... In a news release, Alpha said its actions “are being triggered by persistent weakness in U.S. and overseas coal demand and depressed price levels, along with government regulations that are causing electric utilities to close coal-fired power plants and forgo new construction.”
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In June, Patriot Coal announced it had laid off 75 workers at two West Virginia operations after initially warning in April that 850 employees might lose their jobs.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at [e-mail], 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter.

I posted here about a month ago that Alpha rival Cliffs Natural Resources was idling its Pinnacle metallurgical coal mine outside Pineville, WV.:

Wyoming County, West Virginia, coal mine may be idled

[Viva_Daddy]

1. And they accuse Obama of waging "a war on coal". Hypocrites