Coal miner says employees at Wise County mine had no warning of layoffs

[theHandpuppet]

2. 1,100 Alpha miners in W.Va. warned of layoffs

The Charleston Gazette
Thursday, July 31, 2014
1,100 Alpha miners in W.Va. warned of layoffs
By Ken Ward Jr.

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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