The Doe Run Company cuts mine production, reduces workforce by 75 positions

“Laying off such a skilled workforce is always a last resort,” said Jerry Pyatt, president and CEO at Doe Run. “We have taken a number of other actions throughout the last 12 months. However, depressed metal prices, increased operational expenses and uncertainties related to regulatory requirements mean we have less flexibility during extended periods of low metal prices.”

“The rising cost of regulation has a dramatic impact on business, and contributes to decisions companies make all the time – including this one,” Pyatt stated. “We don’t have the ability to move our mines to a location with more balanced regulation, so we have to look at other ways to adjust to present conditions.”

According to a report for the National Association of Manufacturers, on average, companies in the manufacturing sector annually spend $13,750 per employee to meet federal regulations. During the last six years, Doe Run has incurred more than $343 million in environmental expenses, including $54 million in 2015 when lead prices began the most recent downward trend.

“We have a uniquely qualified workforce,” stated Mark Coomes, Doe Run vice president of human resources and community relations. “When we lose these skilled employees, they often take their skills out of the region to other mine operations. As one of the largest employers in Iron and Reynolds counties, we understand that the loss of these employees not only hurts our business, but also has an impact on the region.

“Where possible, we intend to reassign many of our employees to open positions in other areas of the company.”

Doe Run’s Missouri operations provided 1,199 jobs in 2015, and has been shown to generate an estimated 3,334 indirect jobs in related services across the state, according to an earlier study by Development Strategies. Since 2013, the company has eliminated 386 jobs, the largest of which were the result of the closure of the company’s smelter in Herculaneum, the last primary smelter to operate in the U.S. Today, lead concentrates produced from Doe Run mines are shipped overseas, primarily to Asia, as a result of the smelter closure in 2013.

In Missouri, mining supported more than 33,380 jobs1 and ranked 13th out of the 50 states2 for jobs contributed by metal mining as of 2012. Missouri’s mining industry contributed $1.5 billion to Missouri’s gross state product in 2013.3 Doe Run’s economic impact is estimated at $1 billion a year.

The mining industry pays some of the highest wages in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average wage for all U.S. miners is $74,267. In comparison, the average wage for all U.S. workers is $51,295.

Lead mined and recycled in Missouri provides metal for motive and stationary batteries, shielding from radiation, and specialty building materials.

About The Doe Run Company

Based in St. Louis, The Doe Run Company is a privately held natural resources company and a global provider of lead, copper and zinc concentrates. Dedicated to environmentally responsible mineral and metal production, Doe Run operates one of the world’s largest, single-site lead recycling centers, located in Boss, Mo. The Doe Run Company and its subsidiaries deliver products and services necessary to provide power, protection and convenience. Doe Run has operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona. For more information, visit www.doerun.com and sustainability.doerun.com.