Trucker layoffs a part of downsized coal

Murray Energy Corporation, the parent company for American Coal in Galatia, laid off close to 15 truck drivers at the close of 2015.

In a company mass text message sent out Thursday, on the last day of the year, all of the truckers who transport coal from the American Coal Company's New Future mine to the Empire dock located along the Ohio River near Rosiclare were instructed to clean out their trucks and turn in their keys between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.

A local representative from the company refused to comment, but Gary Broadbent, media director for Murray Energy Corporation, issued the following statement in an email:

"Murray Energy Corporation confirms that certain workforce adjustments and scheduling changes, made in the normal course of business, are necessary to reflect the current coal marketplace, which has been destroyed by President Barack Obama and his supporters, including the Sierra Club; the increased utilization of natural gas to generate electricity; and the extremely excessive coal severance tax in the State of West Virginia. We are unable to discuss the details of these adjustments,"

Murray Energy Corporation has, in recent months, initiated several lawsuits against the Obama Administration.

"For the past seven year, the Obama Administration has waged a regulatory rampage against the United States coal industry, and the thousands of high paying, well-benefitted jobs which it provides," said Robert E. Murray, Murray Energy president.

The company laid off about 85 coal miners from American Coal in May.