US coal firm begins mass staff layoffs after Obama win
Washington, Nov. 11 (ANI)
An American coal company CEO is laying off employees at various subsidiaries after President Barack Obama won re-election bid to the White House.
Murray Energy Corp. CEO Robert Murray has entered 'survival mode', announcing that more than 160 employees at various subsidiaries will be laid off, in part due to Obama-related regulations and taxes.
Murray outlined his views in a letter to employees, which included theories including that a new carbon tax will subsidize Obama supporters and lead to the 'total destruction of the coal industry,' perhaps by 2030.
"Lord, please forgive me and anyone with me in Murray Energy Corp. for the decisions that we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any of the enterprises that you have helped us build," Murray wrote in the letter.
"We ask for your guidance in this drastic time with the drastic decisions that will be made to have any hope of our survival as an American business enterprise," the Huffington Post quoted Murray, as writing in the letter.
According to the report, Murray, who campaigned with and donated to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during the election season, drew criticism in August for allegedly requiring workers at an Ohio mine owned by the energy company to give up a day's pay to attend a "mandatory" Romney campaign event.
That incident, as well as allegations that he pressured employees to donate to the Romney campaign, led to the planning of an investigation by the Ohio Democratic Party, the report said.