Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-01-19
ABOUT 1000 LOCAL
EMPLOYEES INVOLVED
IN P. R. R. LAyOFF
Another Reduction OF 20 Per
Cent Ordered by the
Company.
ALL DEPARTMENTS AFFECTED

About 1000 Wilmington employees OF
the PENNSYLVANIA railroad are affected by
an order issued by the company directing
a cut Of 20 per cent in the working force
This Il in addition 10 the December reduC-
ton, which followed one made IN Novem-
bcr On the Southern Grand Division,
comprising the Maryland Baltimore,
| Delaware ard Norfolk subdivisions,
the total reduction will aggregate about
$500 All departments arc affected.
The cut is said to he necessltated by
the falling off Ill freight and passenger
receipts.
While the complete schedule has not
| been made up. il was learned today that
orders had been issued for the laying oil
Of employees in the following numbers
Wilmington shops (Todd's Cut)-500.
Maintenance OF Way-Marylsnd divi-
sion, 4ls: Baltimore division, 436; Della.
ware division. 50; Norfolk division, s6.
Agency (oficc) forces Maryland divi-
sion, 80; Baltimore division, 63; Delaware
division. l3: Norfolk division, "a.
As q matter OF fact, the pairing down
began last Saturday, January Is, and 1t IS
to be continued gradually until the 20
per cent has been reached. In making the
reduction the priority list has to be follow
ed, those employed last being the first "a
/ 60, and so on.
Other reductions, in addition TO those
+ listed above, arc 70 be made, but the
schedule has not vet been worked out.
| This is the third cut made since the
roads were returned by the government
! 10 corporate control last year The hrst
Z cut involved about 1000 employees, of the
/ Southern Grand Division, and IN Decem'
Der a further lsyoff OF about 1900 was
made, which added TO the most recent
order will make q total OF about o,Out
employees dropped by the company on tht
Southern Grand Division since the roads
/ were re turned to private control.
We are not asking anybody to lay
of one day a week. In fact we do not
favor that plan at all As near as We cal
learn the idea came from the employees
themselves and seems TO have originated
in Philadelphia
Our p'a1 works automatically. W hea
we do not have the business TO keeI
trainrnen employed, men with regula
runs are put back on the extra list anC
when the extra list gets top-heavy they
are dropped entirely.
In some Offices we found when tn
system was returned by the government
thst the working forces were entirely to-
large TO economically handle the business
These extra employees have gradually bee
eliminated and that branch of the worl
has been placed on a pre-war basis. The
only place where we feel that employe
should lay of one day week Is IN the cas-
of highly trained and technical men ant
they are comparatively few.
Pittsburg, Jan. 19.-Drastic reductiol
In freight and passenger business 10 tn
central region of the Pennsylvania Rail
road Is resulting in drastic cuts IN tn
operating and maintenance forces, accord
ing TO general officers Of the company her
today Employees are being laid of ever!
day, and unless business improves th
working force viii be reduced from i
to 20 per cent in very short time. Their
will be no laying off Of each employe 70
one day q week In the central region.
we are following our regular custom
when business falls of, said the state
ment, "but the number of employees lai,
off seems larger because when the system
was returned to its owners by the govern
ment we found that many persons has
been added TO the force owing TO tn
necessities Of the war The need for thes
employees has now passed, and as bushes
falls off we are dispensing with them