CSX cuts another 101 jobs in Kentucky

The Class I railway said the decision to lay off workers at the railyard and mechanical facilities in Russell, Ky. was a direct result of a continued slump in coal volumes, according to a report from the Associated Press.    CSX Corp. will lay off 101 union and management employees at its Russell, Ky. facility amid a continued slump in coal volumes, according to a report from the Associated Press. 
   The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railway has been streamlining operations in recent months an effort to cut costs. The company closed administrative offices in Huntington, W.Va. in January, and last fall shuttered a mechanical shop in Corbin, Ky. and reduced train operations in Erwin, Tenn.
   Those cuts resulted in the elimination of about 180 positions in Corbin and about 300 jobs at the Erwin location.
   In all four instances, CSX attributed the cutbacks to plunging coal shipments. Volumes of coal have tumbled in recent years due to federal clean air regulations and falling natural gas prices, causing CSX’s coal revenues to decline $1.4 billion in the last four years alone.
   CSX spokeswoman Melanie Cost told the AP the Russell facility primarily services trains moving to and from coal fields in central Appalachia and that there is no longer sufficient demand to justify the positions. The cuts, which only affect the transportation and mechanical departments, leave about 300 employees at the Russell location.
   “This decision was made only after a thorough review and careful consideration of all other possible options,” she said Cost.
   Cost noted that union workers will be offered relocation opportunities and other benefits according to their bargaining agreements, and some furloughed union employees will be eligible for jobs in higher-demand areas on CSX’s network. Affected management employees will be offered relocation or severance.