Norfolk Southern to Record Workforce Reduction Charge; Senior Appointments Named

Norfolk Southern Corp., the owner of the Norfolk Southern Railway Co., said it would charge an estimated $100 million to its first-quarter ledgers to cover the cost of an early-retirement program.

Nine hundred nineteen workers took the company's recent early-retirement buyout offer. The voluntary buyouts were part of a plan Norfolk Southern Corp. has instituted to scale down and adapt to business needs, it said.

The charge will amount to 16 cents per diluted share, the company said. Nearly 1,200 employees who don't belong to unions were eligible for the program.

The company also named employees appointed to senior positions as part of restructuring. They are J. Gary Lane, senior vice president, law; Kathryn B. McQuade, senior vice president for financial planning; John P. Rathbone, senior vice president and controller John M. Samuels, senior vice president of operations, planning and support; James E. Carter, vice president of internal audit; Nancy S. Fleischman, vice president, corporate; Lewis D. Hale Jr., vice president, transportation, services; Tony L. Ingram, vice president, transportation, operations; Henry D. Light, vice president, law; Mark R. MacMahon, vice president, labor relations; Thomas H. Mullenix, vice president of human resources; Richard W. Parker, vice president of real estate; and Gary W. Woods, vice president of engineering.

Most of the vice presidents are long-time Norfolk Southern employees and most work in Norfolk, VA, where Norfolk Southern Corp.'s headquarters is located.