Drop in demand for rail leads to CN job cuts

MONTREAL— Canadian National Railway Co. is confirming job cuts as it deals with a weakening North American economy that has eroded demand for railroad transportation.

The company said it is “adjusting its resources to demand,” but it wouldn’t say how many people will be affected. Some employees will be placed on furlough and there will be reductions in both management and union job numbers.

In October, Canada’s largest railroad operator cut its adjusted earnings per share outlook percentage for 2019 to the high single digits, down from predictions of low double-digit growth.

Freight volumes came in below expectations in the third quarter and manufacturing has also fallen off, it said.

The railroad also said it was affected by a slowdown in the forestry sector in British Columbia, where high log prices and dwindling timber supply have prompted shutdowns or curtailments in more than two dozen mills and because of the weather-delayed grain crop on the Prairies. The company’s move “includes the difficult decision of adjusting its workforce to demand levels by placing some employees on furlough and reducing both management and union job numbers due to a weakening of many sectors of the economy,” spokesperson Alexandre Boule said.

“These adjustments have already started to take place across the network.”