BRISTOL, Va. — The timing couldn’t have been worse for more than 100 coal miners at Alpha Natural Resources. The workers learned Friday, a week before Christmas, they were out of a job.
Alpha will lay off 66 miners at Marfork Coal’s Slip Ridge and Ellis Eagle operations in Raleigh County. The company will also reduce the workforce by 72 at Elk Run Coal’s Seng Creek and Shonk mines in Boone County.
Alpha officials confirmed the layoffs late Friday and said they came as a result of the weakened market for coal. The company will shutdown production on one section of each of the four mines.
The miners affected were notified Friday and the layoffs take effect immediately.