PBS Coal to Layoff 138
By: John Mecham
Updated: December 13, 2012
PBS Coals, Inc. and its affiliate, RoxCoal, Inc., announced it will immediately idle its Roytown and Hart mines in Somerset County and lay off 138 employees. The company said it notified the employees today. PBS says the layoffs are necessary because of the continued depressed coal market conditions and pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has resulted in higher costs.
"The decision to idle two mines and lay off 138 employees at this particular time was extremely difficult, but unavoidable," said D. Lynn Shanks, President and CEO. "Both the international and domestic coal markets continue to remain soft due to weak economic growth and activity. Additionally, the escalating costs and uncertainty generated by recently advanced EPA regulations and interpretations have created a challenging business climate for the entire coal industry."
We have a reporter in Somerset and we will have much more on this on WTAJ News at 5.
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