Decker Coal Mine Furloughs 73 Employees

Decker Coal Company has furloughed 73 of their employees until January due to current coal market conditions. The company confirmed the furloughs Thursday, the second time since early May that employees of the Decker Mine have been furloughed. 98 workers were furloughed on May 8, but the mining company recalled all of the workers by the end of May.

According to data from the U.S. Mining Safety and Health Administration, Decker Coal Mine, which is located in Big Horn County, Montana, just north of the Wyoming border, employed 164 workers in the second quarter of this year. There have been over 500 coal industry jobs lost in the Powder River Basin this year, which equates to about 11 percent of the basin’s 4,800 coal workers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal production in the U.S. for 2020 is expected to be 28 percent lower than in 2019.