Part of Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) will ramp down production and lay off employees at its Collie Coal Mine, 160km south of Perth in Western Australia.
Yancoal subsidiary Premier Coal is responding to falling demand for coal-fired power by downsizing operations and retrenching 100 individuals, representing up to 20% of the mine’s total workforce of 500.
“The proposed reduction in operations will result in a downsizing of the workforce over coming weeks,” the company tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Initially, the decrease is focused on reducing the reliance on labour hire and contractor requirements … [and] consultation with affected workers and stakeholders has commenced.”
The Chinese-owned operation supplies coal to Synergy’s (ASX:IS3) Muja Power Station, located 22km east of Collie.
The Western Australian Government earlier flagged plans to phase out state-run coal-fired power generation facilities by 2030.
The government promises that affected Premier Coal workers will receive support and career transition options.
“We expect [Premier Roger Cook] and contractors to work with their workforce to identify redeployment opportunities, where possible,” a government spokesperson tells the broadcaster.
“This announcement will have no impact on energy supplies. However, we understand this is a difficult time for the community.”
State Shadow Minister for Energy Steve Thomas believes that Collie coal workers might keep their jobs if coal-fired generation continues.
“This is the inevitable outcome of the ongoing closure of coal-fired generation in Western Australia,” he says.
“The state government said it wanted to get out of coal, and so inevitably this means the loss of coal jobs.”
The Mining and Energy Union wants affected Collie employees to be reskilled in transition industries.
“Workers in coal and power have been told for years there would be a planned and orderly transition, [but] what we are seeing now is that transition [is] starting to bite sooner than expected, and communities like Collie are being hit with the consequences,” WA District Secretary Greg Busson says.
“We have been calling for new industries and investment in Collie now, not years down the track … [and] that means real redeployment pathways, real investment, and real jobs — not just promises and plans.”
Premier Coal is WA’s largest coal producer, with assets mainly in Collie.
Write to Richard Szabo at Mining.com.au
Images: Premier Coal
