(The following appeared on the Pittsburgh Business Times website on February 3, 2009.)
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Union Railroad Co. eliminated a third of its staff in the past three months, according to a notice filed by the company with the state Department of Labor & Industry. Ninety-seven workers have been laid off from the company’s 300-person staff.
The firm, which connects U.S. Steel facilities to class one railroads and barges, is a subsidiary of Transtar, which is a subsidiary of U.S. Steel.
John Armstrong, a spokesman for U.S. Steel, declined to speculate about future layoffs, saying that the reductions were “a result of economic conditions and our customer orders.”
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice dated Jan. 23 called the cause “a significant decline in its business.”
U.S. Steel posted a net income loss of 66 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008, but still came out on top for the year, compared with 2007.