The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail; 2011-12-16
Volume 1, Number 24
There is hardly anyone left.
Here’s today’s Amtrak Special Employee Advisory.
December 16 , 2011 Page 1 of 1
Operating Departments Management Changes
As some non-agreement-covered employees begin to leave the company as a result of taking advantage of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan (VSIP), Amtrak continues to align the organization with the Strategic Plan, and is taking steps to ensure continuity of operations.
Effective today, Chief Financial Officer DJ Stadtler will take on the role of Acting Vice President of Operations, while Controller Gordon Hutchinson carries out the day-to-day Finance duties of the Chief Financial Officer.
In the near future, Amtrak will be actively recruiting to fill the roles of Chief Transportation Officer, General Manager – West, and Central Division General Superintendent. Following that effort, a Vice President of Operations will also be recruited, following today’s departure of Jeff Geary.
Senior-level positions — those held by Vice President of Transportation Richard Phelps, General Manager -West Bill Duggan and GeneralSuperintendent Daryl Pesce — vacated as a result of the VSIP are not being immediately filled to enable a competitive job selection process.
I thank Jeff for his hard work and wish him the best in his future endeavors. In the midst of this transition, I want to assure all Amtrak employees that we are being thoughtful and thorough about the changes we’re making in the organization,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman. “We have very strong operating departments with talented railroaders. While a handful of specific positions may be temporarily vacant, Ihave full confidence that our employees will continue to lead and to help deliversafe and reliable service. Change can be distracting, but I know that you will remain focused on delivering the safe and professional service you deliver every day.”
Employees who previously reported to these positions will report directly to DJ Stadtler, as will the Chief Mechanical Officer and the Chief Engineer. In this role, DJ will also be working with managers to develop a structure that is aligned with the Strategic Plan. In the coming days and weeks, DJ will be communicating with employees in the operating departments to provide more information about his role.
Amtrak thanks all of the employees who are leaving the company for their contributions to the company. We wish them well as they start new chapters in their lives.
Okay, let’s review.
“… (T)aking steps to ensure continuity of operations.” That’s not exactly team building and confidence building stuff.
The Vice President of Operations – the Number Two guy in the company is gone.
The Vice President of Transportation – the Number Three guy in the company is gone.
General Manager – West – the guy who runs things on the West Coast is gone.
The Central Division General Superintendent – the guy who runs Chicago is gone.
Over 150 other front line and senior managers are gone, too.
The Chief Financial Officer – the money guy – is now temporarily running operations as Acting Vice President of Operations.
The Controller is now the acting Chief Financial Officer because the real Chief Financial Officer is temporarily the Acting Vice President of Operations.
The money guy is running the railroad, and he’s reporting to the guy who has spent the vast majority of his career as a public employee bureaucrat with no railroad operating experience – Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.
To review from the last issue of Business and Politics, here’s what a recently retired Fortune 50 Human Resources vice president, an expert at executive development and assessment had to say and Amtrak’s mismanaged Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan:
… Boardman is simply in over his head, the Dilbert “pointy-haired boss.” The Peter Principle. This source says what we are seeing is almost always what happens with untargeted buyout offers, because younger, high potential employees see not vacancies up the ladder but a sinking ship, with the buyout simply a bonus for being first into the lifeboat, so they leap at the offer, and older ones just being literally tired of the chaos, of the bad leadership, the bad results, of the hopelessness, of being affiliated with a losing team, so they jump at the offer, too.
What is left is the dregs and the unemployables.
Time and time again through this agonizing process of the past few weeks we have seen constant emphasis from Amtrak about how it is attempting to improve its personnel costs through elimination of management positions without a single union employee leaving the company. This is somewhat akin to the constant drumbeat out of Washington that it is necessary to tax “millionaires and billionaires” to balance the budget instead of raising taxes on the middle class.
You can’t balance the federal budget solely by taxing “millionaires and billionaires” (or even come close to it), and you can’t fix all of Amtrak’s problems by eliminating so many management positions without a carefully crafted plan of succession and restructuring in place BEFORE you being the buyout plan.
The ongoing theme for Amtrak for the rest of the year is going to be Chaos at Christmas, and everyone can play, from employees to passengers to host railroads and suppliers.
An incredible amount of human capital, institutional memory, and gained wisdom has walked out of the office door to a relaxing holiday season. Those that are left are probably going to wish they went, too.
The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail will have more on this next week.
Gil Carmichael, former FRA Administrator during the Bush I years, and former Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council, as well as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver has started a new series of reports, entitled the Gil Carmichael Report, Investing in Interstate 2.0. The reports are free, informative, and a must read for anyone serious about the future of railroads in the United States. Contact the report distributor at geoff@jdmandassociates.com for your very own copy.
J. Craig Thorpe, noted Amtrak and railroad illustrator is available for all railroads, railroad-related companies, and organizations for his dramatic illustrations on a custom basis. Mr. Thorpe’s impressive gallery of work and contacts for engagement may be viewed on his web site, which is listed below.
