Solid Energy has informed employees that it will go ahead with its proposals to change the sites’ work and staffing levels. The decision comes after considering feedback from staff members at the Stockton and Spring Creek mine sites.
Chief Executive Dan Clifford stated that feedback from staff members developed some alterations to the initial plans. At Stockton, a change has been proposed to further improve efficiency. As a result, affected employees will have another week to comment on this proposed change.
Mr Clifford added that the alterations to the initial plans would not change the overall number of expected redundancies - 113 at Stockton and six at the Spring Creek site.
Due to the changes, Stockton’s staff complement will be 246 come July and coal output will fall to approximately 1 million t a year. The lower tonnage and work levels at the mine were necessary to stem losses while still allowing the company to maintain relevance in the international market.
The company has now begun a process to select employees for the remaining jobs. It is expected that this will be completed by the end of June.
Adapted from press release by Joseph Green