June 3, 2025 - About 200 coal mine workers in Wyoming County, WV were notified Monday that they’d be losing their jobs in August.

Core Natural Resources told workers at the Itmann Mine No. 5 and Itmann Coal Preparation Plant that part or all of the operations there would be idled in 60 days.

Core, based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, cited “weaker than expected market conditions” and economic forces for the layoffs. 

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement Monday that his administration would work to “find meaningful work as quickly as possible” for the affected workers.

“Coal miners built West Virginia, and we owe it to them to look out for their best interest at all times,” he said. “I am saddened to hear of the reported layoffs in Wyoming County.”

President Donald Trump’s trade policies have roiled the state’s coal industry.

The mine produces metallurgical coal, the kind used to make steel. About half of West Virginia’s coal production is exported overseas, and most of that is metallurgical coal.

In April, Trump signed an executive order to boost coal production and use. 

Arch Resources and CONSOL Energy merged earlier this year to form Core.

Three Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN notices, were sent to workers at three other West Virginia mines since late last year.

On May 12, Coal-Mac LLC notified state officials that 105 workers at three mines in Logan County would be laid off by mid-July and the workforce reduction would be permanent.

On April 28, Greenbrier Minerals notified state officials that 61 workers at a surface mine in Logan County would be laid off by the end of June, citing “adverse market conditions.” Those layoffs are expected to be permanent, with no bumping rights, the company said.

On Oct, 7, Elk Run Coal Company notified state officials that 66 workers at the Checkmate Powellton Mine in Boone County would be terminated by early December.

With Monday’s layoffs, a total of 432 coal mine workers in southern West Virginia have been sent WARN notices since October.