The company has been struggling since a long wall machine used to extract coal was buried in a roof collapse.
Workers were offered $21 per hour pay combined with a loss of working conditions to continue operations at the mine; however, it was voted down by employees.
Wollongong Coal chairman Jasbir Singh said, "While these reductions in jobs are essential at the moment, Wollongong Coal is committed to further developing and operating the underground operations, despite these unprecedented economic times, which sees current global coking coal market prices at historical lows."
Wollongong Coal chief operations officer David Stone said that the company would continue to employ 256 people within its Russell Vale and Wongawilli operations.
Stone added that the company’s focus at Russell Vale is on the development process while awaiting regulatory approval for longwall 6.
