RESTRUCTURING is getting under way at the former São Paulo state railway Fepasa following its transfer to the Ferrovias Bandeirantes SA concessionaire on January 1. Ferroban President José Lindoso de Albuquerque announced on January 24 that the board of directors had decided to move the railway’s headquarters to Campinas, where the operations control and workshops are located.
Ferroban has also introduced a voluntary severance package aimed at reducing the number of staff and improving productivity. Fepasa had already cut its payroll from 16500 in 1994 to 8600 three years later, but the private concessionaire feels the 6300 employees it inherited is still too many. A marketing drive is under way to regain freight traffic lost to road in recent years, and the President hopes to be able to start recruiting again when business picks up.
