Norfolk Southern idles Tennessee rail yard and cuts 135 jobs
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Norfolk Southern is eliminating 135 jobs and reducing operations at a rail yard in Tennessee as part of its overall response to reduced freight traffic.
The Norfolk, Virginia, based railroad said Wednesday that it will stop switching trains at its railyard in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The railroad said Knoxville will continue to serve as headquarters of the company’s central region with about 300 employees.
The railroad has already announced several cuts as part of an effort to reduce its annual expenses by $130 million this year and by more than $650 million by 2020.
Norfolk Southern is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings report Thursday afternoon. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect the railroad to report earnings per share of 98 cents on $2.39 billion.
