HERMON — It doesn’t necessarily mean they will lose their jobs, but 32 workers who signed employee retention agreements could be laid off from the bankrupt railway that owned the runaway train that caused one of the biggest rail disasters in North American history.
The trustee appointed to operate Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway during proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Courtin Bangor filed a motion late last week to void “certain retention agreements” the 32 employees signed, court documents state.
The biggest name on the list is Robert Grindrod, the company’s president. The others appear to be management-level workers and their assistants. Grindrod and attorney Robert Keach, the trustee who filed the motion, did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Thursday and Friday.
Tied to salaries ranging from $48,800 to $171,900, the layoffs could save MMA about $2.4 million, the documents state. Company officials have said that the company has been struggling to operate since the July accident, in which 47 people were killed when the runaway train’s crude-oil tankers exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
“To the extent enforceable, the obligations under the [agreements] constitute an undue burden to the estate while providing no benefit,” the motion states. “Therefore, as a precaution, the Trustee has determined that rejecting the agreements is in the best interests of MMA and its estate.”
The agreements obliged the 32 workers to help the company operate during a potential sale of the company in exchange for half-pay if the buyer offered them continued employment and full pay if the sale ultimately fell through.
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