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Second Largest Coal Miner East Of The Mississippi Files For Bankruptcy: 4000 Patriot Coal Jobs In Peril

Tyler Durden's picture




 

At last check Patriot Coal had around 4000 employees. Those soon to be former employees will soon require yet another massive seasonal adjustment by the BLS to be "adjusted" out, because moments ago the second largest coal miner east of the Mississippi and the second largest producer of thermal coal in the eastern US filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As part of its filing, the Peabody spinoff announced it had obtained a $100 million DIP, which will be sued to fund the company until it finds a "strategic buyer" or otherwise restructures its balance sheet. Alas, with the price of coal being where it is these days, the most likely outcome for ticker formerly known as PCX is an outright liquidation and another 4000 people in the rest belt left without jobs who, just like the case of Denny Ryder of Decatur, IL, will promptly disappear from the labor force so as not to spoil the US "recovery" propaganda.

 

Full Patriot Coal bankruptcy filing statement:

Patriot Coal Corporation ("Patriot" or "the Company"), a producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States, today announced that it is engaged in active negotiations for the sale of substantially all of the Company's operating assets to a strategic partner. The Company is also engaged in ongoing discussions with key stakeholders as it evaluates a range of strategic alternatives to maximize the value of its assets. 

In conjunction with these activities, Patriot and its wholly-owned subsidiaries today filed voluntary petitions for restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Richmond, VA. The Company intends to complete its review of strategic alternatives and present a value-maximizing restructuring plan to the Court as quickly as possible.

Patriot expects its customer shipments and mining operations to continue in the ordinary course during the restructuring process. The Company has received a commitment for $100 million in "debtor in possession" ("DIP") financing led by a consortium of the Company's secured debt holders to support its continued operations. Upon approval by the Court, the DIP financing, combined with cash generated from ongoing operations will provide sufficient liquidity to support the business during the restructuring process.

Bob Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Patriot, said, "In light of the challenging market conditions, and after a comprehensive review of our alternatives, the Board and management team have determined that this process represents the best path forward for Patriot and its stakeholders. Patriot is dedicated to operational and environmental excellence and, as always, we remain committed to operating safely and serving our customers throughout this restructuring process. We greatly appreciate the continued support of our customers and our suppliers and the ongoing hard work of our employees."

 

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Tue, 05/12/2015 - 12:34 | 6085291 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

What's the line from Atlas Shrugged?  Something like the ministry of job preservation or something will soon come out and say that they cannot lay off those workers and that they must be employed no matter what.

Tue, 05/12/2015 - 13:11 | 6085457 Dixie Flatline
Dixie Flatline's picture

Directive 10-289

In the name of the general welfare, to protect the people's security, to achieve full equality and total stability, it is decreed for the duration of the national emergency that:

Point One. All workers, wage earners and employees of any kind whatsoever shall henceforth be attached to their jobs and shall not leave nor be dismissed nor change employment, under penalty of a term in jail. The penalty shall be determined by the Unification Board, such Board to be appointed by the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources. All persons reaching the age of twenty-one shall report to the Unification Board, which shall assign them to where, in its opinion, their services will best serve the interests of the nation.

Point Two. All industrial, commercial, manufacturing and business establishments of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth remain in operation, and the owners of such establishments shall not quit nor leave nor retire, nor close, sell or transfer their business, under penalty of the nationalization of their establishment and of any and all of their property.

Point Three. All patents and copyrights, pertaining to any devices, inventions, formulas, processes and works of any nature whatsoever, shall be turned over to the nation as a patriotic emergency gift by means of Gift Certificates to be signed voluntarily by the owners of all such patents and copyrights. The Unification Board shall then license the use of such patents and copyrights to all applicants, equally and without discrimination, for the purpose of eliminating monopolistic practices, discarding obsolete products and making the best available to the whole nation. No trademarks, brand names or copyrighted titles shall be used. Every formerly patented product shall be known by a new name and sold by all manufacturers under the same name, such name to be selected by the Unification Board. All private trademarks and brand names are hereby abolished.

Point Four. No new devices, inventions, products, or goods of any nature whatsoever, not now on the market, shall be produced, invented, manufactured or sold after the date of this directive. The Office of Patents and Copyrights is hereby suspended.

Point Five. Every establishment, concern, corporation or person engaged in production of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth produce the same amount of goods per year as it, they or he produced during the Basic Year, no more and no less. The year to be known as the Basic or Yardstick Year is to be the year ending on the date of this directive. Over or under production shall be fined, such fines to be determined by the Unification Board.

Point Six. Every person of any age, sex, class or income, shall henceforth spend the same amount of money on the purchase of goods per year as he or she spent during the Basic Year, no more and no less. Over or under purchasing shall be fined, such fines to be determined by the Unification Board.

Point Seven. All wages, prices, salaries, dividends, profits, interest rates and forms of income of any nature whatsoever, shall be frozen at their present figures, as of the date of this directive.

Point Eight. All cases arising from and rules not specifically provided for in this directive, shall be settled and determined by the Unification Board, whose decisions will be final.

Tue, 05/12/2015 - 13:01 | 6085405 SmittyinLA
SmittyinLA's picture

Obama/Boehner voters deserve to eat shit 

Tue, 05/12/2015 - 19:11 | 6087206 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

Lets not forget "love notes" Mcconnell

Tue, 05/12/2015 - 13:10 | 6085453 Dixie Flatline
Dixie Flatline's picture

100% the fault of environmentalists, leftists, and their jack boots in the alphabet regulatory bureaus.

Tue, 05/12/2015 - 14:26 | 6085779 falconflight
falconflight's picture

I'm pretty pissed off about this.  Second time filing, PCX stock hadn't even publicly started trading again from the last Chap 11 in 2012.  The Court should dismiss the Chap 11 and force it into Chap 7 liquidation.  

Wed, 05/13/2015 - 03:50 | 6088515 fr0thing
fr0thing's picture

And yet most coal miners and their families voted for Obama and Sherrod Brown. Suicidal.

Wed, 05/13/2015 - 03:50 | 6088516 fr0thing
fr0thing's picture

And yet most coal miners and their families voted for Obama and Sherrod Brown. Suicidal.

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