Mass Layoff for Illinois Rail Company with 75 Jobless in June

There is a soft spot in my heart for railroads which is why I'm not happy to share the word that a rail company in Illinois has notified the state that they will be conducting a mass layoff resulting in 75 being jobless in June.

This is just one of what seems like a rapid-fire number of WARN notices that have been posted on the Illinois Work Net site recently. The latest one is in the St. Louis area on the Illinois side of the river in Granite City as Amsted Rail Company now shows a mass layoff is coming in June.

The official Amsted Rail Company website says it "designs, engineers, tests and manufactures our entire suite of transit products in the United States". The first layoff date according to the WARN notice is June 26, 2025.

I realize that we've long ago passed the golden age of rail, but you'd be surprised by how many goods are still transported this way. There are no details at this time if this mass layoff is due to a changed contract situation or if the layoffs will be permanent or temporary. Let's hope it's the latter for all of those who still make their living on these big iron horses.