July 20, 2024 - More layoffs are coming to surface coal miners in Sweetwater County, just about eight months after the first round of layoffs.

According to reporting from Sweetwater Now, 30 Black Butte Coal Company employees are likely being laid off. That’s almost a third of the company’s current 94 workers. Wyoming Public Media hasn’t been able to independently verify the total layoff numbers, as Black Butte didn’t respond by press time. However, Sweetwater Now reported they first heard word of the layoffs from anonymous sources last week.

Black Butte is one of two surface mines in Sweetwater County, which has long been tied to the coal industry. But recently, the county is experiencing an energy transition.

Activity at the Black Butte mine area

Photo: Rock Springs Chamber Of Commerce

“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.

Late last November, Black Butte laid off at least 19 employees. At the time, Gov. Mark Gordon blamed the federal government’s heftier environmental standards for pushing out coal.

“The mine has gone through rounds of environmental reviews and [the Department of] Interior continues to throw up additional paper obstacles,” Gordon said, referring to Black Butte’s mine expansion application that hasn’t been approved. “Let’s be clear. This is about coal.”

However, despite what president has been in office, U.S. coal production has generally continued to decline since its peak in 2008. Just in Wyoming, it’s declined by nearly half.

Similarly, production at Black Butte mine has fallen. It 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.

So, Souza said her department’s job is to be a support system in times of layoffs.

“Maybe they need some up-skills training, maybe they need to get a CDL (commercial driver’s license) or they need a welding certificate or a plant operations degree,” she said.

The goal is to keep the miners in Sweetwater County and help them transition to another field.

Workforce Services will hold a “rapid response” event Tuesday for laid off employees at the White Mountain Mall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We'll have Western Wyoming Community College come in and talk about their programs,” Souza said. “We’re going to try and pull in some employers to come and just talk about the positions they have open.”

A similar event was held for laid off Black Butte employees last fall. Souza said since, some of those employees have transitioned to the Trona industry.