BNSF Railway, one of the largest freight railroads in the U.S., has reportedly furloughed hundreds of employees in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and Texas.
The furloughs were announced Tuesday, with 362 workers reportedly losing their jobs, according to the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) with the AFL-CIO, the transportation labor federation representing U.S. rail unions and workers.
“BNSF Railway callously announced it has furloughed over 362 mechanical department positions at numerous locations across their system,” Greg Regan, president of the TTD AFL-CIO, said in a letter obtained by FreightWaves. “BNSF has said that the slashing of these positions was necessary to realign with their business operations and to respond to business decline.”
Workers at BNSF terminals were reportedly furloughed at rail terminals in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and Texas, according to posts on social media. While TTD AFL-CIO said the furloughs were in the mechanical department, social media posts indicated positions such as clerks, carmen, pipe fitters and laborers were also affected.
Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF, whose total revenue in 2023 declined 8% year over year to $23.8 billion, said it is offering transfers and retraining for affected workers.
BNSF representatives issued a statement to FreightWaves about the furloughs:
“While the underlying economy currently lacks clarity, BNSF is pursuing and capturing growth in several areas. We have an imbalance of employees where growth is occurring among some of our mechanical work groups.
“We have team members in locations on the network where there isn’t sufficient work and simultaneously not enough team members where the growth is occurring. Work groups must be readjusted to ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time to best serve our customers’ current transportation needs and be positioned for future growth.
“BNSF has offered location transfers with incentives targeted to those locations where there are open positions. BNSF has also offered craft transfers for mechanical employees to be retrained for other open positions on the BNSF network. There are currently several hundred open mechanical and engineering positions on our network. Our hope is that we can reallocate personnel through these incentive programs, so BNSF continues to grow with our customers.”
Regan said BNSF has notified the union that 150 mechanical jobs will be made available across the country for furloughed workers to reapply but could require workers to relocate and accept lower pay.
“If mechanical employees were to switch crafts they would be forfeiting their established seniority … by transferring to new locations, different mechanical crafts or the maintenance of way department positions,” Regan said. “They would be effectively starting their railroad careers over, as seniority is the cornerstone of work opportunities within the railroad industry.”
In the wake of the furloughs, the TTD AFL-CIO demanded immediate federal inspections of BNSF locomotives and rail cars.
“We urge the Federal Railroad Administration to immediately conduct unannounced focused inspections of all BNSF owned and leased locomotives and rail cars … and further issue non-compliance orders requiring BNSF to repair any defects before being permitted to utilize their locomotives and rail cars,” Regan wrote. “We have long-held concerns about numerous defects that are intentionally being ignored and neglected by BNSF because managers … are under pressure to perform work with an inadequate number of workers. These problems will only be exacerbated by the extreme mechanical department cuts that were carried out by BNSF.”
BNSF has over 40,000 employees and operates 32,500 miles of rail across the U.S.
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Joe Papa
It all started when the ATSF entered its first agreement with JB HUNT called Quantum. Now BNSF just signed a new agreement with JB Hunt or Quantum 2 for reduced rates TOFC AND COFC. And now JB Hunt is buying Walmarts container division which will provide Walmart with cheaper shipping costs COFC moves.
So with all this added freight coming on board then need find a way to try save money because they made a deal that losses money. And with the Walmart freight now under JB Hunts special rates will hurt the bottom line of BNSF and Warren Buffet doesn’t like to lose money and rather get rid of employees.
Wayne
I’ve seen where they have so-called furloughs and terminal cutbacks just to get people in other places. This was a big practice back in the 90’s. You know something is wrong when they have a hiring bonus upward of 15k and people still won’t come here to work. They even had a retention bonus in 22-23 for those eligible to retire to stay another year. But for the middle class, just like society and politics we got screwed by another work policy called Hi-Viz. We didn’t get no monetary incentives. This is TY&E personel. We are the ones who on call 24 hrs a day. 365 days a year. Now with another change to work schedules and policies I’m sure we’ll be going to work every 12 hrs. Less people 2x work. 2x tired Our trains were 5-6500 ft in length now 7k+ feet. So when your sitting at a crossing wondering whats going on. 🤔
Peter C.Ely
Just when California is getting pounded by brutal storms on the Donner (Roseville) Subdivision and Martinez Subdivision on the Union Pacific, trees falling down in front of trains causing damage to Amtrak trains,and having to limp from Martinez, CA to Sacramento at restricted speed there. Switches are powered at the yard in Roseville are now out of service and have to manually line. I have to miss my nail and hair appointments.
Be safe my brothers and sisters, and sistas!
Wayne Mansfield
And remember, “rail” spelled backwards is “L-I-A-R”.
Kyle Goorhouse
I work for BNSF RAILWAY, I work in track maintenance and I can tell you… all these “retaining, and transfers” you mentioned sure haven’t been offered to Us. We’ve just been laid off by the masses. Yet there are higher-ups making 18 and 25 million dollars a year still. Last I checked… trains run on the tracks we build and repair… and Not on $300 office chairs. Layoff the office bigshots for 3 to 6 months. Then BNSF will safe a lot more money in 1/2 the time and us laborers can get the warn and damaged tracks actually caught up and repaired, and we won’t have to worry about losing our homes from waiting for the railroad to prioritize us and let us come back to our jobs.
Groggy ginger
BNSF reports millions of dollars in profits yet furloughs essential jobs
Gle Curtis
I worked for BNSF repair shop in Lincoln Ne. and there was 38 furloughed at our shop. I retired because I didn’t want to transfer to the rail yard and bump someone else out of a job. Or work nights and bad days off. I would have stayed at our shop but decided to retire at half my pay.
Stephen webster
I agree all thet railway cars should have to be inspected by a outside group of inspection personal and a fine of $10 000 per car and 50 000 for each locomotive that does not pass inspection and that money be dedicated to a first responders fund and to improve crossing railway crossings. Maintenance and improvements