Miners face cuts at Svalbard
Lower demand has reduced coal production by 50 percent at the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The local coal company now intends to dismiss 25 percent of staff.
The small Arctic society at Svalbard might face troubled times following the economic problems of mining company Store Norske. As reported by NRK yesterday, the Store Norske company now produces only 50 percent of what it produces prior to the international financial crisis. That has resulted in a major need for cost cuts. As many as 100 of the company’s 400 employees will now be dismissed, company representatives told NRK. At the same time, the mining company is in a hurry to develop a new mine in the area. Resources are running out in the company’s existing mine and new facilities need to be developed in the course of the next couple of years. The Store Norske accounts for a key part of employment at the archipelago. The other main local source of employment is the quickly developing polar research.
