BNSF Railway cuts 62 management jobs in restructuring

BNSF Railway trimmed 62 management jobs this week as it restructured operations in the wake of declining coal shipments.

The Fort Worth-based company, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, realigned its operations organization into two regions from three, resulting in the positions being eliminated across the transportation, engineering and mechanical departments. Affected employees were offered severance packages.

“We are seeing a fundamental, structural shift in the coal industry, with double-digit volume declines in the first quarter of 2016 alone and no expectation for a return to previous levels,” the company said in a statement. “Realigning the operations organization responds to the changing business environment and helps us better align resources with our customers’ demand for freight service.”

The railroad has been cutting back this year due to decreased shipments of coal and oil. In March, the railroad’s top executive, Matt Rose, said the company had furloughed about 4,600 employees over several months, or about 10 percent of its workforce. He said the company had also offered buyouts to some employees.

The company said this week’s job cuts were across the network, declining to say how many were in Fort Worth.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 6:08 PM with the headline "BNSF Railway cuts 62 management jobs in restructuring."