Published: August 24, 2016 |

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Carter Machinery has announced another round of restructuring, but has not yet released the number of employees who may be impacted in the company’s two Mercer County locations.

In a release issued today from corporate headquarters in Salem, Va., the company said the depth and duration of the coal industry depression has reached a point requiring more aggressive cost structure alignment.

“As a result of continued deterioration of the Central Appalachian coal mining industry and the fact that we envision no signs of improvement in the foreseeable future, we have made the very difficult decision to align our locations, employment level, and overall cost structure to the market realities we face.”

The company said it has initiated cost reduction moves and tried to retain employees.

“One of our key objectives has been to retain our highly capable employees, including an initiative to make available opportunities for employees in our coal mining stores to move to the eastern part of our territory, where customer activity is stronger,” the company said. “This initiative included relocation support to help with move expenses. We’ve been successful in moving many of our talented employees to several branches within our territory.”

Carter’s priorities during this time, the company added, is to “include respect and compassion for our employees and their families and continuing to serve our customers effectively.”

In April, the company laid off 33 employees in a reduction in force or RIF in the operations here.

At that time, company officials said depressed global economies, which impacted demand for metallurgical coal, as well as reductions in electricity generated by coal fired power plants, has led to “the deepest and longest Central Appalachia coal producers and suppliers have experienced in several decades, if not ever.”

Janet Bailey, the county’s economic development director, said she knew Carter was making another cost-savings move, but she doesn’t know how many employees will be impacted.

“They told me the same thing (as in Thursday’s press release),” she said. “I tried to touch base with them to see if there was anything we could do or have representatives from the state visit, but they would provide no more information.”

Marc Meachum, director of the Bluefield Chamber of Commerce, said the number of the company’s employees at the call center on Commerce Street has dwindled.

“There’s five or six now,” he said. “At one time it was between 20 and 25.”

Carter’s other Mercer County operation is the Caterpillar facility on Clover Dew Dairy Road in Princeton.

Source: (August 18, 2016) Bluefield Daily Telegraph

To stop by Carter Machinery’s website, CLICK HERE

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