Intercontainer cuts services, jobs

Intercontainer cuts services, jobs    Intercontainer-Interfrigo, the struggling intermodal operator based in Basel, announced the termination of five of its intermodal train services and 45 job cuts among its administrative staff in Switzerland.
   With immediate effect, Intercontainer-Interfrigo will stop its Bettembourg/Rotterdam, Herne/Milan, Herne/Prague, Herne/Salzburg and Zeebr'gge/Milan services, for “cost effectiveness” reasons. By June 2004, the intermodal operator will also cut 45 jobs, most of them through layoffs.
   Intercontainer-Interfrigo, one of Europe’s largest rail-based intermodal operators, said that it wants to “repositioning” the company on a core network of 160 terminals in Europe, and return to profitability by 2005 at the latest.
   “A depressed economy and structural changes in the production systems of a number of railways have impacted negatively on business,” Intercontainer-Interfrigo said.
   In the first six months of 2003, the company moved 367,000 TEUs, 4 percent less than in the same period of 2002, and 19 percent below budget. Revenue for the first six months of 2003 was 135.1 million euros ($171 million), down 1.5 percent from the same period in 2002, and 13 percent below budget.