(The following story by Randolph Heaster appeared on The Kansas City Star website on December 19.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern plans to move some operations from Shreveport, La., to its corporate headquarters, adding about 130 well-paying jobs to the local economy.
The railroad said Friday it planned to consolidate its customer service center to its downtown headquarters in the first quarter of 2009. Shortly afterward, a network operations center in Shreveport also will move to Kansas City.
The annual average starting salary for the jobs moving to Kansas City is $77,000, said Doniele Kane, a Kansas City Southern spokeswoman. That would add nearly $10 million in annual payroll to Kansas City Southern’s local operations.
Kane said exactly how many people will transfer from Shreveport remains unclear, but many of these jobs probably will become available to the local work force.
“Of the approximately 130 new positions to Kansas City, a significant percentage of those will be new job opportunities here in Kansas City,” she said in an e-mailed response. “But it is too early to know the exact number.”
Kansas City Southern said streamlining these operations with functions currently done in Kansas City will create efficiencies for the company. Some of those functions include marketing, e-commerce, revenue and asset management, and service design.
The new Customer Solutions Center will be led by Kelly Platt, who was promoted to assistant vice president of business solutions from the position of general director. Platt will report to Jorge Marquez, vice president of business solutions.
The network operations center will continue to be led by David Ebbrecht, vice president of transportation.
Earlier this year, Kansas City Southern reported having about 500 employees in the area. Kansas City Southern shares closed Friday at $19.02, down 36 cents.