Murray, Alpha notify West Virginia coal miners of layoffs
More than 2,200 employees of coal mines in three states learned Friday they were losing their jobs as companies reacted to low prices and demand from the power sector that the government predicts will keep dropping.
Murray Energy Corp. said it was laying off 1,417 workers in West Virginia, including 588 employees of a Monongalia County mine that it bought from Cecil-based Consol Energy Inc. Murray idled that former Blacksville mine March 31, expecting it to be temporary, but told the state Friday in a mandated notice that the layoffs will be indefinite.
In addition to the West Virginia jobs, the St. Clairsville, Ohio-based company said it planned to lay off 162 workers in Illinois and 249 in Ohio. Murray had about 7,500 employees before the layoffs, CEO Robert Murray said this week. A spokesman could not be reached.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin called the layoffs “heartbreaking.”
“These cutbacks affect more than just those directly employed – they affect suppliers, support services and retailers whose businesses depend on these companies and their employees,” he said in a statement.
Alpha Natural Resources said it was idling its Camp Creek mine in Wayne County, W.Va., and alerted 439 workers they could be laid off.
“This is an unprecedented time in the coal industry and Alpha continues to take difficult but necessary actions to ensure that our production is aligned with the reduced market demand we see today and anticipate in the future,” Kevin Crutchfield, CEO of the Bristol, Va.-based company, said in a statement. Alpha idled other mines over the past year and cut 71 workers last week from mines in Virginia and Kentucky.
Leaders blame competition from a glut of natural gas and tougher regulations of emissions from coal-fired plants for an oversupply that has cut coal prices by 10 percent in the past year.
Demand for coal used to generate electricity in the United States will decrease further with a federal proposal to reduce carbon emissions, a new government report found. Under the so-called Clean Power Plan, coal-fired electricity would fall by 90 gigawatts, more than twice the decline government analysts predicted as recently as April, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration.
Consumers might take a hit as electricity prices would increase as much as 7 percent on average by 2025, partly because of the costs of building power plants.
“This report reinforces what nationwide grid operators and utilities along with Pennsylvania's lawmakers, Public Utility Commission and Department of Environmental Protection have already said through testimony and comments. It is essentially a forced energy policy with complete disregard for the costs of implementation,” said Pennsylvania Coal Alliance CEO John Pippy.
Robert Murray has four pending lawsuits against the EPA to block the plan. During an appearance this week in Washington County at which he warned of the larger layoffs, he predicted bankruptcies and mergers among other companies.
Murray's state notice on the Monongalia County layoffs said the company notified officials with the United Mine Workers of America. A union spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Murray in 2013 paid $3.5 billion to Consol for five West Virginia mines. Last month Murray spent $1.37 billion for a stake in Illinois basin miner Foresight Energy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. David Conti is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-388-5802 or dconti@tribweb.com.
