(The following appeared at KFDA.com on December 10.)
AMARILLO, Texas Members of our community making more than 50 thousand dollars a year may be leaving Amarillo thanks to the economy.
Anonymous insiders working for the railroad tell us those hired after 2005 are at risk for losing their jobs. And the BNSF confirms that the struggling economy has them looking to trim cost.
Officials say they normally furlough some employees this time of year... And then hire them back in the spring.
But 2009 re-hirings may not as quick as years past.
Spokesman for the company, Joe Faust says, "Our forecast are that probably through the second quarter of this year, that volumes will be down, and that our employment levels will reflect our business demands. the recall for employees will probably be a little longer for employees who are furloughed, longer than is typical during this time period."
Most of the employees going on furlough make an average of 60 to 100 thousand dollars a year.
The median salary for the city is around 45 thousand.
"In many of the cities where we operate we are a major employer and a major contributor to the tax base to the cities where we operate. So certainly we are concerned about our employees and the impact a potential loss of salary income could mean to all of those communities." Faust says.
Our insider says about 85 people in Amarillo could lose their jobs.
We also spoke to a former L2 Auto's worker today. The former employee told us the company fired 12 of its 14 Amarillo employees on Friday.
Though a representative for the company says they didn't lay off anyone and they are not closing their doors.
I got a letter in the mail today from Team BNSF basically sayin that new dudes are no longer needed....They tried to be nice about it but in a nut shell, it was pretty much sayin, "Thanks but hit the fuckin bricks!"
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the speed on the track is 10 mph and its restricted speed, so at 10 on that blind corner they had a banner set up....
I got a letter in the mail today from Team BNSF basically sayin that new dudes are no longer needed....They tried to be nice about it but in a nut shell, it was pretty much sayin, "Thanks but hit the fuckin bricks!"
Looks like Summer '05 and later are gonna be hit. I don't know if the cuts will be as bad as everyone is saying. The count of 5000 people is cumulative of all crafts AND exempt employees.
