WELLINGTON —Production has been scaled at the Dugout Canyon mine near here, leading to the elimination of 114 jobs at the mine in the midst of a weakened demand for coal in the region.
The announcement of the layoffs came Friday by the Canyon Fuel subsidiary of Arch Coal, which said it plans to suspend longwall operations at the end of its current panel for the first half of 2012.
"We regret the need to take this difficult action," said Paul A. Lang, executive vice president of operations.
Lang said the company hopes to retain most, if not all of the employees by offering them positions at operations at other mine locations.
"Although we are reducing production at Dugout Canyon at this time, we believe there may be additional opportunities for Utah coal in the future — both here at home and in the global marketplace," said Lang. "The next potential longwall panel at Dugout Canyon has been developed and any decision on future production will be based on what market conditions allow."
Arch reiterated that it has committed and priced 17.8 million tons of coal sales for 2011 from its Western Bituminous operations, which include Dugout Canyon, Sufco, Skyline, Arch of Wyoming and West Elk. Coal sales from Dugout Canyon totaled 2.3 million tons in 2010.
The company said it will provide affected employees with 60 days of wages and benefits in addition to a severance package. Relocation assistance also is available to Dugout employees who fill open company positions in other states.
U.S.-based Arch Coal is a top five global coal producer and marketer, with an estimated 179 million tons of coal sold in 2010.
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