In addition to the declining use of coal, mechanization (controlling mining equipment with computer hardware) is also responsible for the loss of coal jobs. Simply put, machines are able to do a more efficient job than their human counterparts. Mechanization alone eliminated 50,000 coal-related jobs between 2008 and 2012. If coal production were to increase, it is still unlikely that the majority of those jobs would return.
Just how bad is it for coal miners?
America’s second-largest coal mining company, Arch Coal, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, and they weren’t alone. Walter Energy, Alpha Natural Resources, and Patriot Coal, among others, have all followed suit.
President Barack Obama proposed the POWER Initiative in 2015. The initiative would set aside grant funding for economic development in communities that have been impacted by the coal industry’s decline. According to the White House, this program would “diversify economies, create jobs in new or existing industries, attract new sources of job-creating investment, and provide a range of workforce services and skills training including work-based learning opportunities.”With a proposed budget in 2016 of $55 million, Republicans have remained skeptical of the merits of the program.
