The owners of a facility which builds rail cars for transit systems in Springfield has furloughed about a third of its employees amid a dispute with the federal government.
Chinese-owned CRRC manufactures rail cars in Springfield for the Boston-area transit agency, the MBTA, and for a system in Los Angeles. Necessary parts and materials coming from China have been held up by the government which is citing a federal act prohibiting the import of materials made with forced labor from a certain region of that nation. That's led to slowed production and the furlough of about 140 workers.
CRRC filed a notice with the state in January warning the furloughs could become reality in March due to the situation. It said it was working with federal lawmakers and state officials to try to coax the federal government to release the materials.
In a statement Monday, CRRC said it currently has 422 employees, including those who are now off the job. The company said the impacted workers will continue to receive health insurance benefits during what is anticipated to be a two-month furlough.
“The economic impact of this detainment has affected CRRC MA’s business operations significantly, hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its vehicles, thus, preventing the manufacturer from operating at full capacity,” the statement said. “As a result, difficult personnel decisions were unavoidable.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, who has expressed frustration over the situation, said he didn’t understand the rationale behind the Trump Administration's actions.
"He's advocated or pursued to have good paying American manufacturing jobs, well we have this right here in our backyard in Springfield, the largest railway manufacturing company in the world," he said.
Sarno added there is a cascading impact to the local economy because of the furloughs. He said local vendors who do business with CRRC may see their own business slow if production does not return to normal levels. He said the facility has been beneficial economically to Springfield-in terms of tax revenue and jobs, not to mention money spent by CRRC workers in the local area.
More than a decade ago, the MBTA contracted with CRRC to build new cars for the Red and Orange subway lines, which run in and around Boston. But, not everything has gone smoothly. The project has been delayed, some of the train cars did not work properly, all of which has drawn scrutiny from state officials.
