(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 11, 2009.)
HELENA, Mont. — BNSF Railway is hiring 36 people to do maintenance work in various parts of Montana.
Spokesman Gus Melonas says hiring is nearly complete as the railroad, a unit of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., prepares for its maintenance season that starts in the spring and continues into the fall.
The newly hired will join crews that replace railroad ties and do other work on the BNSF track system. BNSF plans to spend $75 million upgrading track in Montana this year.
Melonas says that in the fourth quarter of 2008, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company had 41,000 employees system-wide. He says that between the fourth quarter and Wednesday, about 2,500 had been furloughed — put out of work, but with a possibility of being called back.
The workers furloughed were on train and mechanical crews.