North Antelope Rochelle on edge, as Peabody Energy informs some not to report to work

Some employees at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine were told Tuesday not to report to work later this week, raising the possibility of layoffs at the nation’s largest coal mine. The two-sentence letters, hand-delivered to an unknown number of miners as they left work and obtained by the Star-Tribune, did not amount to a layoff notice. Instead, they instructed the recipients to attend a meeting in Douglas on Friday. The meeting’s purpose was not given. A Peabody spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. The notices nevertheless mark an ominous sign for Peabody’s flagship mine. North Antelope Rochelle has largely avoided the cutbacks that have afflicted other mining operations. The company’s Caballo mine, which produces a lower-quality coal, cut its payroll by 67 percent, or 268 jobs between 2011 and 2015. Employment at Peabody’s Rawhide mine fell by 13 percent over the same period. The company recently announced what it termed a “small layoff” at both mines. Payroll at North Antelope Rochelle, by contrast, increased 8 percent between the fourth quarter of 2014 and 2015. The mine finished last year with 1,432 employees, according to federal figures. Employment was up 4 percent since 2011. But the continued market downturn and a delay in the planned $358 million sale of three mines in Colorado and New Mexico have left Peabody teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The company recently invoked a 30-day grace period on a $71 million interest payment. Peabody has $6.3 billion in debt and recently disclosed that some of its creditors had recommended the St. Louis-based firm file for bankruptcy. The company has said it is trying to entice its lenders with a bond swap instead.