Genesee & Wyoming Inc. will furlough 50 more employees in the next 30 days, in addition to 95 furloughed so far, the railroad operator said during its investor conference call, Reuters reported.
Genesee has also reduced about 10 percent of its locomotive fleet since the beginning of 2009 and cut working hours to keep pace with the low demand.
The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company said it will let leases expire in railcar fleet and delay investment in coal fleet.
Genesee, like other railroad operators, has been affected by lower freight volumes as the transportation industry has been dragged down by the prolonged economic downturn.
Genesee's New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania regional operation, whose customers include AK Steel, American Electric Power and United Refining, will cut about 9 percent of its workforce by the end of the month.
The region, which employs about 460 employees, has reduced crew starts by 15 percent and will be selling locomotives that are not needed.
The company's southern region operation, employing 321 people, has reduced about seven percent of its workforce, or 24 positions, since the beginning of the year.
Genesee said some of these expense reductions would be long term and that it would emerge as a much leaner organization in the other side of the economic downturn.
Genesee, which did not update its 2009 outlook in the call, recently reported a 6.4 percent fall in February same-railroad traffic.
Shares of the company were up 7 percent at $19.20 Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
(The preceding article was distributed March 12, 2009, by Reuters.)
