The CBC is reporting that Canadian Pacific Railways is going to cut 1,700 jobs in the next month and 4,500 jobs by 2016. The cuts are part of new CEO Hunter Harrison's plan to streamline CP to make it more competitive.
CP has posted a "new vision for the future" on their site. Plans including closing hump yards in Toronto, Winnipeg, Chicago and Calgary, improving train speeds, reducing their dependence on leased locomotives and cars, moving their corporate HQ to Ogden Yard, sell off the western portion of the former DM and E, and possibly sell off the Delaware and Hudson.
It's clear that CP needs to improve its operating ratio but I'm sure these cuts are going to be controversial. It seems strange to close hump yards - they are supposed to make switching more efficient - but what do I know?
One might wonder if CP is being reduced and streamlined in order to make it more attractive for an acquisition or merger...
2 comments:
I wonder the same. But I'm also curious how hump yards are in modern times. For example, why the hump in Chicago? These days, isn't most of the cars if not all they're getting in Chicago already cut in blocks and ready for it's destination? Maybe not. I'm just curious.
And I find it ironic that CP announced the closing the Winnipeg hump right after Trains magazine specifically cited it in one of their articles on how manifests move. :)
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