Cut costs to increase profits, and bad things happen
Because Big Business is so intent on maximizing profits, any disruption can have catastrophic results
Another day, another example of Big Business not giving a darn for their workers. This time it's the rail industry. Apparently some executive came up with a bare-bones approach to running railroads a number of years ago, with the expected results:
railroads cut their workforce by 29% (45,000 workers) over the past six years
train lengths grew 25% in length between 2008 and 2017
proactive track maintenance is now "fix it when it breaks"
new braking systems were an excuse to eliminate conductors
the entire system has become fragile and susceptible to any disruption
companies across numerous industries have issued stark warnings that the US freight system is in a state of crisis
the five largest US-owned freight railroads saw operating margins increase by a third over the past decade
