Westmoreland Coal Co. and lenders wanting to take over the bankrupt mining company are seeking concessions from retirees and union workers as it looks to shed debt in chapter 11, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The mining company filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday with a plan to sell its mining business to a group of creditors holding a majority of its roughly $1.4 billion debt. The plan requires that Westmoreland obtain modifications to benefits for some of its retirees and existing labor pacts with the unions that represent hundreds of its miners. Following the lead of fellow mining companies including Patriot Coal Corp. and Alpha Natural Resources Inc., Westmoreland said that it may ask a bankruptcy judge to modify retiree benefits and reject existing collective bargaining agreements if representatives for its employees don’t agree to changes by Nov. 8. Any request to reject the labor agreements or modify benefits must be approved by a judge.
