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Maritime News

U.S. economic woes hit barge maker

Posted on Jul 27, 2009

The Jeffboat division of American Commercial Lines (ACL) has decided to cut its workforce due to depressed demand for their products. Jeffboat is the barge manufacturing division of ACL.

Jeffboat claims that diminished demand for the barge products they manufacture necessitates a 10 percent cut in both salaried and hourly workers. Soft barge demand was cited by ACL as a primary contributor to their unimpressive second quarter financial results.

With profits down nearly half from a year ago, ACL – like many companies – is looking for ways to save money. With about 3,400 people employed at ACL, a 10 percent reduction could mean 340 jobs will be lost in the barge division.

ACL stated that they expect 1,000 employees to remain at Jeffboat after the downsizing is complete. Some workers can expect voluntary severance packages while others will be laid off with no severance.

ACL hopes that the downsizing will better position the company to ride out the economic downturn and return to profitability more quickly once the recession eases. ACL is not the only maritime product company to see profits slide during the recession.