ALLEDONIA, Ohio - The Ohio Valley Coal Company announced Friday that is has been forced to reduce its workforce at the Powhatan No. 6 Mine in Belmont County by 29 hourly jobs.
"We are deeply disappointed and saddened that we had to take this action," General Manager Ronald Koontz said. "But the excessive and unnecessary regulatory actions of the Obama Administration have disrupted our mining operations and taken away much of the market for our coal.
"In turn, this will drive up electricity costs for everyone and increase the cost of goods for American citizens."
Koontz continued, saying that "Since his election, Mr. Obama and his appointees have waged a well chronicled 'war on coal' seeking to destroy the coal industry and the jobs of our own employees and the livelihoods of their families.
"The failed energy policies of the Obama Administration and the 'war on coal' that the President and his Democrat supporters have unleashed are the direct cause of this layoff.
"Unfortunately, for us, this is just the beginning of the workforce reductions."
Ohio Valley is an independently operated subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation. The company will continue to employ 680 workers following the layoff.
