After laying off 19 employees in November, Black Butte Coal Co. has allegedly started a second round of layoffs at its surface mine in Sweetwater County, Wyo., reported Wyoming Public Radio citing a SweetwaterNOW article.
In this latest round, 30 employees are likely to be laid off – about a third of the company’s current payroll.
“Some of these people have 25-plus years mining coal, and that’s a lot of transferable skills,” said Amy Souza, Wyoming Department of Workforce Services manager in Rock Springs.
Souza said she’s seen coal miners make the leap to the trona mining industry, which is growing in Sweetwater County. Also, nearby Lincoln County is growing its workforce in preparation for Bill Gates’ nuclear plant.
The Black Butte mine supplies coal to the nearby Jim Bridger Power Plant, which is in the midst of partly transitioning from coal to natural gas. It has plans to fully close by 2039.
Source: Wyoming Public Radio