By Evan Gordon

November 16, 2019 - Roughly 184 jobs have just been cut at Gibson County, Indiana mines. Alliance Coal says they’re idling production at Gibson north which puts miners out of work.

We’re taking a closer look at the Tri-State coal industry after yet another round of job loss.

In total, recent closures have a wide range, reaching from western Kentucky to southwest Indiana. So far, WARN notices have been sent to hundreds of miners at four locations only since August.

In August, 14 news learned Peabody planned to permanently close its Somerville Central Mine by early October. The WARN notice claims the closure was because of poor business conditions. 128 employees in all were left looking for work.

“They have not closed, but they did cut back on their employees,” Gibson County Commissioner Steve Bottoms stated. “And I do know some of them they have went to other jobs.”

Now, in November, another hit for Gibson County.

On Friday, 184 employees from Gibson County Coal Company learned they would be laid off. In this notice, miners were told a drop in demand for coal is to blame.

“They were polite enough to pay us through the middle of January, so it’s not like we’re not going to have a paycheck,” miner William Hastie shared. “But, most of us don’t live on a 40-hour lifestyle. So, we’re just hoping for the best. It’s a lot of people displaced.”

It’s not just southwest Indiana facing coal closures. Western Kentucky has also dished out hundreds of WARN notices.

Alliance Coal also stopped operations at Dotiki mine in Webster County in August. Officials said this would allow them to focus on maximizing production at its lower cost mines in the Illinois Basin. With weak market conditions, they say they were left with no choice.

“It’s probably coal sales, and that can be cyclical,” Bottoms added. “Hopefully, they’ll get some other contracts and be able to bring these people back.”

The next month, in September, McLean County’s Pennyrile Rhino Mine sent warn notices too. 169 employees in all were expected to lose their jobs after it was sold to Alliance Resource Partners.

“I’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again where they will go into other jobs,” Bottoms explained. That’s the bright spot. Our region has some of the lowest employment, not just in the state, but the nation.”

Commissioner Bottoms added in Gibson County, companies such as Toyota, VuTeq along with Alcoa have job openings. Having a CDL license could also help get a person back to work quickly.

Federal data showing U.S. coal consumption year-to-year indicates a steady decline since 2013, and it’s not expected to get better. Numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show consumption for 2019 is on pace to decline again.