(The following story by John D. Boyd appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on November 18, 2009.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. lines of the seven Class I railroads trimmed another 408 jobs as of mid-October from a month earlier, taking their total employment level down to a new low.
Reports the carriers submitted to the Surface Transportation Board listed 149,020 workers in all, down from 149,428 at mid-September. That is the fourth straight monthly decline, after July had the only gain this year.
October’s combined Class I employment is down 6.6 percent from 159,511 in January, and 9.2 percent from 164,025 in October 2008.
The STB requires the largest group of railroads to report their workforce as of the first payroll of each month. The companies then have until month’s end to mail in those figures, and the agency assembles them into a single report.
Union Pacific Railroad, the largest employer, added workers in the latest month, along with Kansas City Southern and U.S. units of Canadian Pacific Railway.
Those cutting jobs from mid-September to mid-October were BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation and U.S. operations of Canadian National Railway.
Among job categories, Class Is reported adding train crews and other transportation workers through mid-October, but cutting track and structure maintenance staff, professional positions and executives or their assistants.