CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A national railway company has announced two of its facilities in Wyoming will close and 122 employees will be laid off in response to difficult coal industry markets.
BNSF Railway is scheduled to close its maintenance facility in Guernsey June 5 and its Donkey Creek facility near Rozet July 7, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.
The announcement came Wednesday “in response to changing business conditions and projected lower demand for rail cars to ship commodities,” company spokeswoman Maia LaSalle said.
“Similar to the size of our train, yard and engine workforce, our mechanical teams must match the demand for traffic moved by our railroad,” LaSalle said. “With volumes lower than anticipated due to several factors, including changes in the coal and energy sector, the number of rail cars and locomotives moving on our network and thus repairs needed, have decreased.”
Some employees will have the option to transfer to other facilities, despite similar closures elsewhere including the elimination of 19 salaried and 344 craft positions nationwide, company officials said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.