Colorado railroad company to cut one-third of its work force
By CARL HILLIARD Associated Press Writer
DENVER AP) — Union Pacific Railroad will cut about 1,100 administrative jobs in Colorado, shifting about half of them to St. Louis and Omaha, Neb., as part of its merger with Southern Pacific.
The company announced the cuts Thursday, and said it will take place over the next two years. Targeted are clerical jobs, train dispatch positions
and supervisors and non-union personnel, the railroad said.
The company said the administrative job cuts will reduce the railroads' Colorado work forces to just over 1,800 down from more than 3,000 currently.
Union Pacific said about half of the employees will be offered severance packages and the other half transfers to centers in St. Louis and Omaha, or elsewhere in the merged system.
"We must consolidate the administrative functions of the two railroads to realize the cost efficiencies of the merger," said Dick Davidson, president of Union Pacific Corp.
The railroads' merger is expected to be made final Sept. 11.
The company conducted a cost effectiveness study in Denver, St. Louis and Omaha and found Colorado the least attractive of the three, Davidson said.
"Our analysts found that Colorado's strong economy has pushed up real
estate and operating costs for business," Davidson said. "Colorado's business climate is not as competitive for consolidating companies as it was a decade ago."
Union Pacific said the analysis also took into account disruption of employees' lives.
Because Denver is the smallest of the three centers, cuts and transfers there affect fewer workers,the railroad said.
ValuJet lays off already grounded workers
By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA AP) — ValuJet Airlines, grounded since a deadly crash in May, has laid off 134 workers who had been recalled in the hope of getting the discount carrier back in the air by the end of the month.
"We have asked them all to make sure that we have numbers where we can reach them on immediate notice," said ValuJet spokeswoman Marcia Scott, who confirmed the layoffs late Monday. "It is our anticipation that this will be short lived."
The FAA questioned the airline's safety practices after one of its planes crashed May 11 in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people aboard.
Grounded since June 17 by the Federal Aviation Administration, ValuJet must receive approval from the agency before it can resume flying. The Atlanta-based airline said last week it would not return to service before September.
The airline began contacting the furloughed workers Monday night, Ms. Scott said. Most worked in reservations and customer service, including gate agents and ticket agents. No pilots or flight attendants were affected, she said.
ValuJet had called back more than 500 workers to prepare for the airline's return to service. The company reminded workers the ValuJet's return would depend on the FAA and that no exact target date could be set, Ms.Scott said.
The FAA conducted two days of proving runs with ValuJet last week to evaluate how the airline's flight crews react to emergency situations.
But the agency has still given no word as to when it will allow ValuJet to resume service.