CSX CEO To Retire; Layoffs Total 1,000 -- WSJ
February 22 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford and Paul Ziobro
CSX Corp. said that Michael Ward, its chairman and chief
executive, will retire in May as railroad veteran Hunter Harrison
and an activist investor try to shake up the company and grab the
top spot.
Mr. Harrison, the railroad veteran who announced his early
departure from Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. in January , has been
working with activist investor Paul Hilal to become the company's
next chief executive.
CSX on Tuesday also announced plans to lay off 1,000 of about
4,500 management employees by the end of March. Most of the
affected employees are in the company's Jacksonville,
Fla.-headquarters, though the layoffs will also impact some field
employees, spokesman Gary Sease said.
CSX privately offered the chief executive position to the
72-year-old Mr. Harrison, The Wall Street Journal reported last
week, but negotiations broke down when Mr. Hilal refused to back
away from some compensation and governance demands.
CSX also said Tuesday that President Clarence Gooden is retiring
from the company later this year and that Fredrik Eliasson, its
current chief sales and marketing officer, has been named president
-- cementing that two of its top executives won't be staying,
regardless of whether a deal is struck.
CSX said it has been considering the changes announced Tuesday
for more than a year, and that the appointment of Mr. Eliasson
isn't intended to "pre-empt or otherwise affect" discussions CSX is
having with Mr. Harrison.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com and Paul
Ziobro at Paul.Ziobro@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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