(The following article by Michael Hooper was posted on the Capital-Journal website on April 22.)
TOPEKA, Kan. — Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway has recalled 46 furloughed workers to fill openings in the locomotive repair shops in Topeka.
The announcement Wednesday brings to 92 the number of Topeka jobs created through the consolidation of the Burlington, Iowa, locomotive shops with the Topeka shops, said Steve Forsberg, spokesman for BNSF. On March 26, the company said 46 employees from Burlington were transferring to Topeka this spring.
The additional 46 job openings announced Wednesday include 24 machinists, 13 electricians, three boilermakers, five carmen and one laborer. The jobs are given first to furloughed BNSF workers with seniority in the union district.
Doug Kinsinger, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday’s announcement was a sign that additional heavy-duty locomotive repair work was coming to Topeka.
Spurred by a bullish economy and an aging work force, BNSF has been on a hiring spree lately.
BNSF officials have said the company would hire 1,600 workers this year, more than double what it normally hires. Pay is $40,000 to $80,000 annually. The company has 120 openings in the Kansas City area. BNSF’s Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kan., processes an average of 1,814 cars daily, making it the busiest freight yard in the BNSF system.