North China's Shanxi Province, a major coal producer, will lay off 10,000 coal miners this year as part of a strategy to curb losses.

An official from the provincial coal department said that the laid-off workers will find employment in massive highway construction projects, which are receiving an unprecedented amount of investment.

In addition, the coal mines will also engage in high-tech agricultural projects on their wasteland to absorb the surplus workers.

Statistics show that three fifths of the laid-off miners since 1998 have found new jobs.

Shanxi produces one-fourth of the country's coal, and the number of coal workers there account for one-seventh of the country's total. However, due to mounting losses, coal mines have been cutting the size of their staffs since 1998.