News
Decker Coal layoffs higher than expected
SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) – Decker Coal Co. will lay off more employees than originally disclosed next year, when it loses nearly one-third of its business, a union official said.
Billings Gazette
The company initially said it would lay off 40 employees sometime after Tuesday, but has now raised that figure to 50 hourly employees and an undisclosed number of salaried employees, said Steve Feagins, president of United Mine Workers of America Local 1972.
The union represents about 180 hourly employees at Decker, which is just across the Montana border north of Sheridan. The union has 95 members and the company has about 40 salaried employees.
Decker’s mine manager, Tony Ritter, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The layoffs were announced earlier this year, when officials learned the company will lose portions of its major contracts with Detroit Edison and Midwest Generation next year.
News about the loss of Detroit Edison’s contract came as no surprise, but word about the partial loss of a major contract with Midwest Generation came as a total shock.
"I assume it has to do with economics," Feagins said.
Decker is offering severance package to employees accepting an early buyout, Feagins said. The package will be detailed in letters from company officials in mid-January.
If more than 50 employees accept the package, buyouts will be based on seniority, Feagins said.
"It’s always possible that more than 50 employees will accept the buyout, but that’s one of those crystal ball questions," he said.
The payroll loss to the Sheridan, Ranchester and Dayton communities, where most of the employees live, is expected to be about $1.75 million.
"There’s a trickle down effect on top of this," Feagins said.
The layoffs have Feagins and other union officials concerned about the company’s future – and their own.
"Their long-term coal contracts are quickly coming to an end," Feagins said. "When I was first hired on in 1978, they told me I would have a secure job until I turned 55. Well, that’s four years from now."
Decker Coal is a joint venture of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Co. and Kennecott Energy. Kiewit manages the mine.
The company shipped about 10 million tons of coal last year.
MATR Supporters (view all)
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.