A quest for perfection
Paul Tellier says CN's merger with Illinois
Central is a move that must be executed
flawlessly
t's about 40 minutes
into a polite but
desultory interview,
when Paul Tellier,
president and chief
executive of
Canadian National
Railway Co., bursts
from a slouch to lean
across the table.
"I find this argument,
you know, that
you're no longer
100% pure
Canadian, this is
horseshit and you can
quote me on this,"
intones the normally
urbane Mr. Tellier,
now fully animated.
"I feel very strongly."
The provocation was the observation that, with 60% of CN's stock
now held by Americans, some are beginning to wonder if
somewhere along the line Canada has lost another national icon to
those Wall Street carpetbaggers.
It's a question Mr. Tellier might be getting asked more frequently
these days, as CN moves to consummate the $2.4-billion (US)
purchase of Illinois Central Corp.
1998 STORIES
Ottawa wants to revitalize Via Rail
Transport Minister David Collenette said Thursday the
revitalization of Via Rail can't wait much longer.
Collenette said Ottawa expects to make a serious move in September on a
long-awaited restructuring of the passenger carrier.
CN, Illinois Central, Norfolk
Southern strike deal--Nov 20
Canadian National Railway Co. has struck a deal with a
major U.S. railroad, removing a potential hurdle to its proposed $2.4-billion US
merger with Illinois Central Corp.
Canada's largest railway said Thursday it had reached agreement with Norfolk
Southern Railway Co., settling concerns Norfolk had over how the CN merger
with Illinois Central would affect its operations.
CAW says CN's Tellier won't budge
Railway workers desperate for news of
job cuts --- Union Plans for job action
A long conference call with union officials in
Toronto Tuesday night did little to ease the minds of CN
workers in Edmonton.
The 700 members of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 100 still
don't know how they fit into CN's plan to cut 3,020 jobs by the
end of next year.
"It sounds like the company doesn't have it figured out yet," said
John Fix, local vice-president for the mountain region.CAW spokesperson Bob Chernecki said union leaders
anticipate some kind of job action by workers. "I think this is a labour-relations disaster for him (Tellier),"
Chernecki said from Toronto. "He's lost enormous credibility
with our members, who are livid. And we don't blame them."
Tellier defends 3,000 job cuts
The chief executive of
Canadian National suggested Tuesday that the
railway could be in for even more job losses, on top
of 3,000 cuts announced a week ago. "It's an
ongoing process," Paul Tellier said following a
speech to a business audience.
Railways making more money with
less track and fewer employees
Rail companies in Canada are still pulling up track and
cutting more jobs, but the railways are in fact carrying more freight and making
more money on it, says the Railway Association of Canada.
Railway Trends, published each year by the industry lobby group, also notes an
increasing number of new railways, as entrepreneurs take over track abandoned
by the two majors - Canadian National and Canadian Pacific - and try to make a
profit on it.
CNR to cut 3,000 jobs
Canadian National is going to cut 3,000 jobs in a
determined effort to keep making money despite falling revenues. The railway
made the announcement late Tuesday as it revealed a large loss for the third
quarter that takes into account the cost of laying off employees.
The Montreal-based railway said 1,600 jobs are being cut in the last half of this
year and another 1,400 will disappear in 1999.
This includes some 600 to 800 employees who normally leave the company in a
given year, either retiring or quitting.
The company employed 21,600 at the end of the third quarter, Sept. 30.
Martin lectures on corporate
responsibility in wake of CN cuts
orporations that slash jobs unthinkingly may be following a
self-defeating course in the long run, Finance Minister Paul Martin suggested
Wednesday in the wake of 3,000 layoffs at Canadian National.
But he insisted his remarks were aimed at the corporate sector in general, not at
the one-time Crown-owned railway that now is in private hands.
Stock market likes job cuts at
CNR; railway seems worried about
longer term
Investors on Bay Street gave a thumbs up to Canadian
National on Wednesday after Canada's biggest railway announced it will chop
another 3,000 employees from its payroll.
While the stock soared, however, questions were raised as to why CN would
cut so heavily into its workforce while profits and productivity continue to rise.
At the same time as CN announced the job cuts after markets closed Tuesday,
the railway reported a healthy operating profit for the third quarter - excluding a
$590-million charge to pay for the job cuts.
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