RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Amtrak laid off 64 people at its West Coast reservation center in Riverside on Monday, citing increased use of its automated booking system and efforts to reorganize the railroad, according to the Press-Enterprise.
The passenger rail service laid off 88 reservation system employees nationwide. The layoffs came three days after Amtrak president and chief executive David L. Gunn warned employees that further cutbacks will likely be made if the railroad is to survive.
“We were warned internally that this could happen,” said Amtrak spokeswoman Sarah Swain.
Swain said the layoffs became necessary as more customers bought tickets online and through automated telephone and electronic kiosk booking systems. She also said summer bookings were slower than Amtrak anticipated.
Amtrak employs 900 people at its reservation center in southeast Riverside.
William C. Vantuono, editor of Railway Age, a railroad industry magazine, said the layoffs were a matter of efficiencies.
“Job cuts are on the horizon, through layoffs and attrition, to control costs,” he said. “There are areas of inefficiencies that can be corrected.”
Amtrak officials would not say how many layoffs the company expects.
News of the layoffs did not surprise Kevin Palmer, Riverside economic development manager. “The travel industry as a whole has taken a beating since Sept. 11,” he said. “We will do all we can to preserve jobs.”
After weeks of debate over whether to support the struggling railroad, Congress approved a $205 million grant July 18 to keep Amtrak rolling until Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal government’s fiscal year. In late June.
Amtrak’s survival may have slowed bookings, said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, an advocacy group.
“The headlines in June of a potential shutdown of Amtrak were not exactly helpful for Amtrak’s ridership,” he said. “If you were planning a trip you might choose another way to go.”
Amtrak has requested $1.2 billion for the next fiscal year, but the Bush administration says it won’t back funding of more than $521 million unless accompanied by major reforms.