Wellmore to lay off 72 coal workers in Southwest Virginia

Wellmore Energy Co., a metallurgical coal mining company, plans to lay off 72 workers in Buchanan County, according to notices sent to the state in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

A subsidiary of United Coal Co., a Tennessee-based metallurgical coal company, Wellmore’s operations include two company-operated underground mines, one company-operated surface mine, seven contract mines, three shops, two preparation plants, rail-loading facilities, a lab and an administration office, according to United Coal’s website.

In a notice dated July 7, which the state received July 8, Gary Prater, a human resources director for United Coal Co., stated that six Wellmore Energy Co. employees who work at a surface minerals operation in Grundy are expected to lose their jobs

In a second letter dated July 7, which the state received Aug. 4, Prater stated 27 employees are expected to be laid off at Wellmore’s Elk Creek Operation in Hurley. The 33 employees at the two locations are all expected to lose their jobs beginning Sept. 6, with all separations completed by Sept. 19.

In a third notice dated Aug. 4, which the state received the same day, Tammy Fields, a human resources representative for United Coal Co., stated Wellmore expects to lay off 39 employees from the surface minerals operation in Grundy and a preparation plant in Big Rock. Those employees are expected to lose their jobs beginning Oct. 4 with separations completed by Oct. 16.

Employees will not have bumping rights to another position and are not represented by a union, according to the notices.

A page on the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement and Enforcement, also known as Virginia Works, which posts layoff notices received by the state reports that 17 Wellmore Energy Co. employees in Big Rock will lose their jobs with an impact date of Oct. 4 and that 27 Wellmore Energy Co. employees in Hurley will lose their jobs with an impact date of Sept. 6.

A request for comment to United Coal Co. was not immediately returned Monday.

In May, S&P Global, a New York-based market intelligence firm, described the metallurgical coal market as weak due to “low steel demand, exacerbated by recent uncertainty around global trade policy.”

Pennsylvania-based Core Natural Resources, a producer and exporter of coals, including metallurgical and high calorific value thermal coals, in June informed 200 workers in Wyoming County, West Virginia that they’d be losing their jobs in August.

Wellmore produces approximately 1.8 million tons of coal, according to United Coal’s website. Metinvest Group, a mining and steel company based in Ukraine, bought United Coal in 2009.