The Kemmerer coal mine is laying off 28 workers. City officials hope other, incoming energy projects can absorb them.

Kemmerer City Administrator Brian Muir said he learned of the layoffs when news broke from WyoFile Friday.

“Ever since I've been here, there's been some uncertainty as to the future,” Muir said.

Muir hired on in 2019 to help with the town’s energy transition as coal markets declined. The mine had just filed for bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of workers worried. But then another company took over, bringing a brief sense of security.

Worry resurfaced in the last couple years when the nearby coal-fired power plant announced it’s transitioning to natural gas.

“And that's driving the downtrend in the coal industry here in Kemmerer, the biggest contract available no longer using coal,” Muir said.

This was echoed in an emailed press release from Kemmerer Operations, which owns the coal mine.

“The workforce reduction is part of its ongoing efforts to align operations with current coal market conditions, including those caused by the pending natural gas conversions of several coal-fired power plants in the region,” according to the press release.

About 13% of the workforce will be let go in April, according to WyoFile reporting. For an area that’s long depended on coal, there could be ripple effects, said Muir.

“For every job you lose in any economy, there's probably a multiplier effect, you probably lose three more in other areas, like services industries,” he said.

But Muir said they’ve been planning for this, as coal markets have long been declining. Part of that is diversifying the economy from one industry. Muir said they’ve focused on tourism, recreation and other energy jobs – like Bill Gates’ incoming nuclear power plant and trona mine expansion.

The coal mine lay-offs come despite President Trump’s recent announcement to expand U.S. coal production.