ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996 TAG: 9601100073
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
Derailment to cost NS $2.5 million
Norfolk Southern Corp. estimated the cost of Sunday's derailment in Montgomery County at $2.5 million, including $1 million for 8,100 tons of corn that was lost, said NS spokesman Bob Auman. The cost of cleaning up the wrecked cars is not included in the damage estimate, he said Tuesday.
All 81 cars involved in the derailment will have to be scrapped. The train was made up of 98 cars and two locomotives.
Track through the Ellett Valley is expected to be back in service today, Auman said, but he was not sure when the clean-up would be completed. The cause of the mishap was not yet known.
- Staff report
Fiber plant has luggage-liner deal
Georgia-Bonded Fibers said Tuesday it has agreed to provide materials made at its plant in Buena Vista for a new line of luggage made by Skyway Luggage Co. of Seattle.
The company doesn't know yet how much the new business will mean in terms of sales, said spokesman Charles Kostelni. The Newark, N.J.-based company, which operates under the Bontex trading name, has had a long-term relationship with Skyway as a supplier.
Skyway will use a special Bontex-brand product made of recycled and new wood-based fibers and chemicals for the interior lining of its luggage, Kostelni said. The material is an artificial leather that can be produced in either very stiff or very soft versions and is treated to resist mold growth, he said.
- Staff report
Merger layoffs tally 16 percent of total
NEW YORK - Layoffs related to corporate marriages accounted for 16.4 percent of the nation's total job cuts last year, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said Tuesday. Merger-driven layoffs totaled 72,083, compared with 439,882 overall.
The Chicago-based company did not calculate merger-related layoffs in 1994 and could offer no year-to-year comparison. The news, however, was significant given the record merger pace last year: U.S. companies announced more than 8,700 merger deals worth more than $460 billion, according to Securities Data Co.
Overall mergers were down from 516,069 in 1994 and 615,186 in 1993. ``The worrisome thing was the layoffs surged in the fourth quarter,'' said executive vice president John Challenger.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 53 linesby CNB