By Pranshu Verma, The New York Times; September 2, 2020
WASHINGTON — Amtrak, the passenger railroad agency, will furlough over 2,000 workers in the coming weeks because of a steep decline in ridership and revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to company officials.
The job cuts represent nearly 10 percent of Amtrak’s roughly 20,000-member work force and will take effect as the agency begins its new fiscal year, which starts in October. The rail agency will cut 1,950 workers from its unionized work force and 100 employees from its management ranks. Cuts among union jobs could increase or decrease by 2 percent, officials noted in an internal email.