Coal producer Murray Energy warns of mass layoffs

Murray Energy is planning significant layoffs in the next couple of months because of persistently weak market conditions.

The US coal producer earlier this week sent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices to 4,400 employees in six states, saying that it expects to make "mass workforce reductions" in September.

Murray blamed the federal regulatory environment and increased natural gas use as the reason for the job cuts. The company said that it "hopes and expects to continue operating its mines, and will retain as many employees as practicable to ensure continued operation and to fulfill its obligations to its customers."

The announcement came almost immediately after members of the United Mine Workers of America voted down a proposed new labor agreement union leaders had struck with operators of Murray's mines in Northern Appalachia. It is not clear that this influenced Murray's layoff plans.

The company declined to be more specific on what operations will be affected. Murray has active mines in five states: West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Utah. It also has operations in Pennsylvania. Murray employs more than 7,500 people, according to its web site.

A WARN notice made publicly available by the Kentucky Career Center, shows Murray notified 217 workers of its KennAmerican Resources subsidiary, which operates the Paradise No. 9 mine, that they could be laid off around 29 August. Notices sent to other states in which Murray operates were not immediately available.