Yancoal management called all 290 employees of its Abel Mine on Friday and informed 48 people that their services were no longer required.

The redundancies followed an announcement last month that the ­company was looking to hand out ­redundancies to sure up its financial ­situation, given the tumultuous state of the mining sector.

Yancoal general manager of investor relations James Rickards told the Mercury that the people made redundant would meet with the company’s human resources staff on Tuesday.

He said Yancoal would help the ­outgoing staff members compile resumes to increase their chances of ­getting another job soon.

Mr Rickards said company management was concerned with the welfare of those made redundant and the decision to reduce the staff by so many was ­difficult.

“The redundancies were driven by the recognition that we need to restructure to ensure the economic viability of the mine,” he said.

“It is a difficult time for the industry and this is not a decision we have made lightly.

“Forty-eight is a lot [of redundancies] from one mine.”

Abel is an underground mine located about 25km outside Newcastle with the entry point on the high wall of the Donaldson open cut mine, which is in the Maitland and Cessnock local ­government areas. 

Opposition spokeswoman for the Hunter Sonia Hornery blamed the government for the job losses.

“Any day that jobs are lost in the Hunter is a sad one and these latest losses in mining and manufacturing confirm that the downturn goes on unabated,” she said.

“Mike Baird said he’d go door-to-door in the Hunter to win back trust, back on August 19, and he hasn’t been seen in the region since.

“Here in the Hunter, too many people have lost their jobs and too many ­families have lost their number-one breadwinner over the past year.”