The TransAlta coal plant is seen from the air in this photo taken last year.
TransAlta has reported through the Washington Employment Security Department the permanent layoff of 64 employees as the power generating plant makes moves toward shutting down one of the two coal-burning units at the Centralia site at the end of 2020.
The first coal-burning unit will retire no later than Dec. 31, 2020. There will be approximately 115 employees left to operate the second coal-burning unit until 2025 when that too will be shut down. The shutdown of the coal-burning units was established by an agreement between the state and TransAlta, made almost a decade ago. In April of 2011, then-governor Chris Gregoire, TransAlta executives and members of the environmental and labor communities signed legislation to transition the state off of combustible coal power.
“It’s a tough transition because TransAlta has been a really good employer that pays really good wages and benefits and trying to replicate that is difficult,” said Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund. “We knew it was coming but it doesn’t make it any easier when it’s affecting families.”
The layoff of the 64 TransAlta employees will begin Jan. 4, 2021 and are expected to conclude by July, 30, according to Lori Schmitt, Senior Advisor and U.S. Stakeholder Relations & Communications with TransAlta.
“There are all kinds of different trades that are going to be laid off — management, operators, engineers, supervisors — it’s really a tremendous treasure trove for a company that might be looking for good people,” said Bob Guenther, President of the Thurston-Lewis-Mason Counties Labor Council. Guenther also worked as a mechanical foreman at TransAlta for 34 years.
TransAlta has expressed a desire to transition one of the coal-burning units to natural gas in order to keep the Centralia location operational but the possibility of that happening is uncertain at this point.
“Across the company, TransAlta is aggressively transitioning to owning and operating renewable energy resources and natural gas power plants and we are always looking for opportunities in Washington,” Schmitt said.
In an effort to aid in the employees’ transition, WorkSource, a statewide partnership that provides employment and training services to job seekers, will be helping the laid-off employees find work.
Fund said that one possible solution to keeping the laid-off employees in Lewis County would be to attract businesses to the Industrial Park at TransAlta (IPAT)
“It could help keep our Lewis County people that are employed at TransAlta — keep them here,” Fund said.
Mickey Dreher, Managing Director at the Centralia TransAlta location, said that Centralia TransAlta employees have a long history of commitment to generating reliable power and he thanked them for their accomplishments and contributions to the company.
“Although this eventuality has been known for some time, the realization of the impact to our employees is stressful – especially in these unprecedented times during a worldwide pandemic. Sharing the workforce changes months before the actual reductions will enable those employees looking to remain in the workforce to proactively search for new employment opportunities,” Dreher said.
