COLUMBUS — The first wave of nearly 600 layoffs at Stillwater Mine began Tuesday.
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry held a rapid response event for those laid-off employees at the Stillwater County Civic Center, in hopes of providing resources for miners' next steps.
Hundreds of Stillwater Mine employees knew this week has been coming. Tuesday through Friday, the mine is laying off about 100 employees each day. Before August, the mine had about 1,675 employees and will be keeping roughly 1,000. One hundred five salaried employees are expected to be laid off, and 440 hourly. In addition, roughly 200 workers resigned from the mine since the company announced the layoffs this summer.
The owner of the mine, South Africa-based Sibanye Stillwater, announced its layoff plan in September, stating that its Montana operations were struggling to compete with slumping precious metals prices, driving largely by the dumping of cheaper Russian imports into the market. Sibanye Stillwater is North America's largest producer of platinum and palladium at the main Stillwater Mine and its newer operation at the East Boulder mine in Big Timber.
The company got good news this fall whenofficials discovered the mine could save millions by qualifying for a federal tax break, but it wasn't soon enough to save the miners' jobs.
"It's like this is going to cut a lot deeper than we'd imagine... It's been incredibly hard. Like it's weighed on me. It's tried to weigh an attack on my values. You know, I just go to work, to work," says Jesse Hilliard, a laid-off employee.
Hilliard worked at the mine for 11 years. He'd been laid off once due to consolidation in 2015 but was rehired. Hilliard said he hoped that he would be safe this time, but he was ultimately let down.
"Oh, I was dumbfounded. Like, I couldn't believe that they were making that grand of a cut," he said.
John Flannigan, who's worked 38 years at the mine, wasn't safe either.
"It's kind of a sad day. It's like, you've been working for this company, seen it through its ups and downs for 38 years, and you see it slide into this kind of pit. It's disheartening," Flannigan said.
At the rapid-response event, employees were met with multiple resources to help with next steps, such as obtaining health insurance, unemployment benefits, resume writing and mental health services.
"We know what you're going through. We are here to help, but more importantly, our work doesn't stop today," says Sarah Swanson, the commissioner for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
The program will continue through Friday as more employees continue to be laid off.
Heather McDowell, Sibanye Stillwater Mine vice president for legal and external affairs, says they're hoping to get back to a full workforce as metals prices rebound. The mine initially had to begin layoffs due to the price of palladium, its largest output, decreasing.
"We have all the reason to stay for a very long time and work on the market, work on getting our costs down, and really focus on how we can be here for, really, generations more, if we can get the market to cooperate with us," McDowell said.
McDowell says she'd like to thank all Stillwater Mine employees, past and current. However, it was difficult for many Tuesday to focus on the future.
With about 100 employees being laid off each day until Friday, there's still many unknowns, like the future of each employee, and the future of the mine itself.
