Freight railway CSX says that it has laid off 166 management employees, totaling an estimated 5% of its managers.
According to Trains Magazine, the Florida-based company informed employees of the layoffs on January 7, while announcing a series of other cost-cutting moves, including cuts to management benefits, and the furloughing of 193 conductors. Another 157 conductors were placed on "unassigned" status, where they were not awarded jobs when bids opened for assignments. Laid-off employees were also offered severance packages and employment transition services.
CSX said that its decision was made following a "thorough evaluation of current market conditions," and that its goal was to streamline its management structure. This comes after the company laid off 125 managers in July 2025, as part of a company-wide realignment. CSX also replaced then-CEO Joe Hinrichs in September, in the wake of pressure from activist investor group Ancora Holdings. At the time, Ancora was critical of Hinrichs for his supposed role in CSX's "anemic" stockholder returns, and the railroad's failure to compete with Union Pacific's proposed mega-merger with Norfolk Southern.
