Murray Energy Offers Signing Bonuses to New Western Kentucky Mine Employees
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Murray Energy is offering $10,000 signing bonuses to attract new employees to its mines in western Kentucky, a spokesman for the St. Clairsville, Ohio-based company said Wednesday.
Jason Witt said that Murray has been running advertisements “in depressed areas of eastern Kentucky where most of the mines have shut down. We’re trying to recruit some of that talent to come to western Kentucky.”
The ads, which began running in November, say the company will pay an initial bonus of $3,000 at signing, then the remaining $7,000 after one year of employment.
“We’ve had several people come over” from the Central Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky,” Witt said. He did not say how many workers Murray is attempting to lure with the bonus altogether.
On the company’s Facebook page, Murray says it is looking for experienced continuous miner operators, roof bolters, shuttle car operators, face scoop operators and underground maintenance personnel with underground or surface mining experience.
Hiring is ongoing at several former Armstrong Coal mines in Ohio and Muhlenberg counties, including the underground Survant and Kronos mines, respectively, as well as the Lewis Creek surface mine in Ohio County.
Witt said the bonuses also are available at its KenAmerican Resources Paradise No. 9 underground mine in Muhlenberg County.
This is the first time, Witt noted, that Murray has offered such a large signing bonus to the general public, although it has done so “inter-company” before.
On February 2, Judge Kathy Surratt-States confirmed Armstrong Energy’s bankruptcy reorganization plan, paving the way for Murray to acquire the Armstrong Coal mines.
St. Louis-based Armstrong filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on November 1, 2017.
Southern Illinois coal producer Knight Hawk Coal initially agreed to buy Armstrong.
But in January, Murray swooped in with a better bid, one that provided $19 million in cash to finance a new holding company as part of the transaction.
Murray said earlier this year it expected to produce about 76 million st of thermal coal in 2018, including from its Foresight Energy operations in Illinois. The total was to include about 23 million st for export.
Source: S&P Global
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