Tag: WARN Notice

Workers At 2 Allegheny Wood Products Mills Could Get A Reprieve

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia last week approved the sale of sawmills in Randolph and Greenbrier counties to a Pennsylvania flooring company.

Workers at two Allegheny Wood Products sawmills could get a reprieve after a federal judge approved the sale of those operations.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia last week approved the sale of sawmills in Randolph and Greenbrier counties to a Pennsylvania flooring company.

AHF will purchase the two sites from a court-appointed receiver for $7.5 million.

Allegheny Wood Products shuttered its operations in late February. In early March, United Bank, of Fairfax, Virginia, filed a lawsuit against the company, seeking $40.5 million in damages for unpaid principal and interest.

The sale could benefit only a fraction of the 900 Allegheny Wood Products workers who lost their jobs in February.

A worker in Mercer County filed a lawsuit in federal court last month, seeking class action status, alleging the company failed to provide 60 days notice before laying off workers.

Such warnings are required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN.

Alpha Issues Layoff Notices to 886 Miners

Alpha Natural Resources says it plans to lay off 831 miners and dozens more support staff in southern West Virginia as a result of the downturn in the coal industry.

Bristol, Virginia-based Alpha announced Monday it has sent 60-day layoff warning notices to Boone and Raleigh counties.

The announcement includes 468 miners and 40 support staff at five underground mines at Marfork Coal Co. in Naoma and Whitesville, and 363 miners and 15 support staff at three underground mines at Elk Run Coal in Sylvester and Whitesville.

The notice says the layoffs will occur around March 25.

Alpha says the layoffs are the result of an oversupply of coal in the marketplace and dramatically reduced demand that has driven down prices to “unsustainable levels,” particularly for central Appalachian coal.

Alpha Announces 292 Layoffs in Va. & Ky

Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources Inc. has told 292 workers in Virginia and Kentucky they are losing their jobs.

The announcement by the Bristol, Virginia, company on Wednesday is the latest blow for the Appalachian coal industry, which has been staggered by a succession of layoffs as demand for coal declines amid a move to cleaner fuels.

Alpha gave notice to workers at six mines and a processing plant of the layoffs ahead of a potential sale.

The biggest impact will be felt in Virginia’s Wise County. The coal-mining county will see more than 180 workers laid off at two mines and two support operations.

In Kentucky, 111 workers are being laid off in Letcher County.

Besides Kentucky and Virginia, Alphas has mining operations in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

AEP Prepares to Close Six Coal-Fired Plants in Four States

  American Electric Power is preparing to close six coal-fired power plants in four states by the end of May.

The company recently gave WARN notices to workers at the Philip Sporn, Kammer and Kanawha Valley plants in West Virginia, the Muskingum River Plant in Ohio, the Tanners Creek Plant in Indiana and the Glen Lyn Plant in Virginia. The closures will affect more than 250 workers.

Columbus, Ohio-based AEP had announced in 2011 that it would close the plants, along with several others, to meet stricter federal emissions standards.

AEP spokeswoman Carmen Prati-Miller says the company plans to retire more than 6,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation in seven states by the beginning of 2016.

Alpha Won't Lay Off 750 West Virginia Coal Miners

  About 750 Alpha Natural Resources workers at West Virginia coal mines will keep their jobs, despite layoff warnings this summer.

In a news release Monday, Alpha said operations will continue at eight mines in Logan, Mingo, Boone and Raleigh counties.

In July, Alpha warned 1,100 West Virginia workers at 11 mines of anticipated layoffs. The mines produced about 75 percent thermal coal for power generation, and 25 percent metallurgical coal for steel production.

The company cited weak domestic and international markets and federal regulations.

Eight mines extended layoff notices in September. Two mines were idled, resulting in 193 layoffs. One mine kept operating without a layoff warning.

Alpha officials credited Monday’s announcement to cost-cutting measures and sales improvements in some areas.

Officials also warned of a more volatile coal market.

Hendricks Coal Expects Layoffs at Mingo Mines

  Hendricks Coal expects to lay off 90 workers at three mines and a coal preparation plant in Mingo County.

 
A warning notice filed with Workforce West Virginia shows that the layoffs are expected to occur Dec. 1 at the company’s No. 1, No. 5 and No. 6 underground mines and at the prep plant.

 
Online records show Charleston-based Hendricks Coal filed the notice of the layoffs, known as WARN, last week.

 

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