CONSOL is the largest undergound producer of coal in the US.
JANUARY 5, 2009
CONSOL TO IDLE 84 MINE DUE TO MARKET CONDITIONS
EIGHTY FOUR, PA. - - - Consol Energy Inc. could lay off all 260 miners from its 84 Mine in Washington County because of the sluggish economy, company officials said yesterday. The mine could be idled by the end of March.
On Friday, Consol posted a notice required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notifying employees that layoffs could begin within 60 days. The company then would have two weeks to lay off workers, after which it would idle the mine until the economy rebounds, according to company spokesman Tom Hoffman.
The mine, which produces low-sulfur coal used for making coke for smelting steel, needs orders from steel companies to keep the mine open, said Hoffman. So far, he said, steel companies haven't indicated if they plan to keep production going, and, given the state of the economy, it is unlikely they will.
"It's prudent on our part," he said. "If the steel mills are saying they're not going to produce steel, we're not going to produce coal -- we're going to match what they're doing so we don't end up with a lot of inventory on the ground."
The company, based in Cecil, laid off 66 workers on Tuesday as part of its transition from a longwall to a continuous mining system, he said.
In the fall, coal produced by the 84 Mine could be sold to make coke for $150 a ton, according to Hoffman. Now, he said, it can't be sold at all; no one is buying.
The miners are preparing for the worst as they suspect the mine closing will become permanent because of a poor market for the coal they produce, said Mark Segedi, a union official from Ellsworth.
"Naturally, we're concerned," said Segedi, president of United Mine Workers Local 1197. "Everyone feels the writing is on the wall."
The company posted notice of the closing at the mine Friday, two months after it announced that it had reversed those plans. Consol said in October that it would lay off 50 miners there by Dec. 31 and keep the scaled-back mine open to supply coal to the steel industry.
But, Segedi said, the price dropped so low on metallurgical coal that labor costs would cause the company to lose money at the mine.
"They told us they have no orders after February," Segedi said Sunday.
As a result, Consol "just laid off 67 people," Segedi said. The remaining workers were not told Friday when they will be called back to work after the mine closes March 4.
"They're saying market conditions are going to dictate what is going to happen to us," he said. (Combined news reports)
AI
