Giant Baby CEO Lays Miners Off Because He's Upset About the Presidential Election

**Janszoon** · 11-09-2012, 07:57 PM

Gigantic 72 year old baby Robert E. Murray, CEO of the coal company Murray Energy, threw a temper tantrum on Wednesday, laying off a bunch of his employees because he was upset that Obama won a second term. What is it with people who own mining companies lately?

Quote:

For the chairman and chief executive of Murray Energy, an Ohio-based coal company, the reelection of President Obama was no cause for celebration. It was a time for prayer — and layoffs.

Robert E. Murray read a prayer to a group of company staff members on the day after the election, lamenting the direction of the country and asking: “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.”

On Wednesday, Murray also laid off 54 people at American Coal, one of his subsidiary companies, and 102 at Utah American Energy, blaming a “war on coal” by the Obama administration.

Murray Energy is the country’s largest privately owned coal mining company, with about 3,000 employees producing about 30 million tons of bituminous coal a year, according to its Web site.

The company was the subject of an article in the New Republic that said the firm forced miners to attend a Romney campaign speech in southeastern Ohio in August. Murray denied the account. The New Republic also reported that Murray Energy employees have given more than $1.4 million to Republican candidates for federal office since 2007.

Murray has been a target of environmentalists. Notably, the company has spilled coal slurry into a creek on seven occasions.

from here

JustJunMC · 11-09-2012, 09:01 PM

Looks like this guy is going to get sued LMAO

The employees should sue the company

Freebase Dali · 11-09-2012, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustJunMC

Looks like this guy is going to get sued LMAO

The employees should sue the company

I don't know how they would sue him.
Can an owner of a company be sued for laying off employees for anything other than discriminatory reasons? I'm not too sure about this, but I'd guess that making general worker cuts to maintain your own business' profits isn't exactly in the realm of government intervention, or else it wouldn't be much of a private enterprise.

Not that I'm saying that's an awesome thing, but I'm not sure how someone would sue their employer for laying them off so they could make more profit (or avoid profit loss) if that decision wasn't based on any sort of discrimination. As far as the company forcing employees to attend a party's conference, that's another matter entirely, and something that could definitely be addressed if it relates to the layoffs.

Maybe someone could help me out here?

**Janszoon** · 11-09-2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freebase Dali

I don't know how they would sue him.
Can an owner of a company be sued for laying off employees for anything other than discriminatory reasons? I'm not too sure about this, but I'd guess that making general worker cuts to maintain your own business' profits isn't exactly in the realm of government intervention, or else it wouldn't be much of a private enterprise.

Not that I'm saying that's an awesome thing, but I'm not sure how someone would sue their employer for laying them off so they could make more profit (or avoid profit loss) if that decision wasn't based on any sort of discrimination.

Maybe someone could help me out here?

I doubt they could successfully sue him. But he's still an asshole.

Freebase Dali · 11-09-2012, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I doubt they could successfully sue him. But he's still an asshole.

Yea, agreed. Assuming he's simply laying people off simply out of spite because of the elections.
Whether we can make that determination is another thing entirely. The courts probably can't, but anyone trying to get a job there probably should, for their own interest.

JustJunMC · 11-10-2012, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freebase Dali

I don't know how they would sue him.
Can an owner of a company be sued for laying off employees for anything other than discriminatory reasons? I'm not too sure about this, but I'd guess that making general worker cuts to maintain your own business' profits isn't exactly in the realm of government intervention, or else it wouldn't be much of a private enterprise.

Not that I'm saying that's an awesome thing, but I'm not sure how someone would sue their employer for laying them off so they could make more profit (or avoid profit loss) if that decision wasn't based on any sort of discrimination. As far as the company forcing employees to attend a party's conference, that's another matter entirely, and something that could definitely be addressed if it relates to the layoffs.

Maybe someone could help me out here?

Wrongful dismissal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am not sure of the laws in the state as they are all different but they should consult with a lawyer and see because I feel their firing was bull****

Neapolitan · 11-10-2012, 02:07 AM

Maybe he saw the writing on the wall and he was force to make a tough decision he might not wanted to make in a desperate attempt to keep his business afloat for the other 3000 employees. It's not easy being laid off, and it's not easy to let people go either. Maybe Robert E. Murray feels the industry he's in is going the way of the sharecropper and news paper type-setter. It isn't fun worrying about your business being flushed down the toilet.

JustJunMC · 11-10-2012, 04:56 AM

He could at the very least give them severance pay, perhaps a couple months pay to tide them over till they find new work. He should also be responsible for the health of the ex employees as the job is very toxic.

anticipation · 11-17-2012, 01:07 AM

Obama!!!! That guy can't do anything right.

Freebase Dali · 11-17-2012, 01:18 AM

I wonder if we should just assume that all the layoffs that are happening currently are businesses simply firing people because they're butt-hurt.

Doesn't seem like a good strategy to take as a business owner.

Just thinking out loud here.

11-09-2012, 09:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
JustJunMC Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Hongcouver & Global Posts: 125	Looks like this guy is going to get sued LMAO The employees should sue the company __________________ So now I cant even post my own nickname in my signature or have an avatar of a graphic design I made that has my username on here? I dont know who is doing it but please provide a legit reason why my material is suddenly being singled out. Thanks

11-10-2012, 04:56 AM	#8 (permalink)
JustJunMC Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Hongcouver & Global Posts: 125	He could at the very least give them severance pay, perhaps a couple months pay to tide them over till they find new work. He should also be responsible for the health of the ex employees as the job is very toxic. __________________ So now I cant even post my own nickname in my signature or have an avatar of a graphic design I made that has my username on here? I dont know who is doing it but please provide a legit reason why my material is suddenly being singled out. Thanks

11-17-2012, 01:18 AM	#10 (permalink)
Freebase Dali Partying on the inside Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,584	I wonder if we should just assume that all the layoffs that are happening currently are businesses simply firing people because they're butt-hurt. Doesn't seem like a good strategy to take as a business owner. Just thinking out loud here. __________________

11-17-2012, 01:07 AM	#9 (permalink)
anticipation Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3,565	Obama!!!! That guy can't do anything right.