Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017
Vol. 104, No. 72 • Two SecTioNS
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
CSX cuts are ‘aggressive move’ Company eliminating 1,000 jobs amid talks of Harrison becoming CEO
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor CSX Corp., Jacksonville’s largest Fortune 500 company, is undergoing a striking corporate realignment, announcing it will cut 1,000 management jobs as its two top executives prepare to retire in May. Most of the job cuts will be in Jacksonville by late March. That would be one of the largest lay-
offs among companies statewide over the past almost 20 years. Company spokesman Gary Sease said it was an involuntary separation program. He said there are more than 2,500 CSX management employees in Jacksonville. The strategic moves for the Downtown-based transportation company come as former Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. CEO Hunter Harrison negotiates
with CSX’s board of directors to become chief executive. Talks stalled over Harrison’s requested compensation package, estimated at $300 million, and the makeup of the board of directors. Hedge fund Mantle Ridge, which is working with Harrison, wants six of 14 seats on CSX’s board. Mantle Ridge controls 4.9 percent of CSX’s stock. CSX plans to schedule a spe-
cial meeting to let shareholders decide if they want to accept Harrison’s and Mantle Ridge’s demands. Wolfe Research analyst Scott Group said in a research note Tuesday he met with Harrison and Mantle Ridge CEO Paul Hilal on Friday, and they are both confident they will reach an agreement with CSX. Group thinks it will happen within five months.
It’s been a bustling five weeks for CSX, which provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck services to customers in markets that include energy, industrial, construction, agricultural and consumer products. News of the Harrison-Hilal partnership broke Jan. 18 when Canadian Pacific announced Harrison was leaving his CEO post early. CSX CONTINUED ON PAGE A-4
Demand rate billing approved by JEA
Electric sales are down, hurricane preparation up
Sarah Marie Johnston was named the JAX Chamber 2017 Small Business Leader of the Year. She and her husband, Tom Gray, own Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails. The dining area on the second floor features heritage timber on the walls, specially constructed tables from reclaimed wood and a bench across the back wall that is upholstered in carefully chosen cow skins.
Master juggler, creative leader
Chamber winner honored for Moxie’s success By Marilyn Young Editor Building a restaurant from the ground up is hard enough on its own. Try opening that local eatery at the St. Johns Town Center, an area crammed with dozens of national chain restaurants. Add the disruption of contractors handling punch-list items until early afternoon, then cleaning up as the staff is preparing for the dinner crowd. And do all of that the week of Thanksgiving. That was the beginning of Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails, a shared vision of Sarah Marie Johnston and her husband, executive chef Tom Gray.
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“It was crazy,” she recalled. That ability to remain on course in a world of obstacles is among the reasons Johnston was named the JAX Chamber’s Small Business Leader of the Year. As she accepted the award this month, it was an acknowledgement of a career that began in retail in Southern California, then shifted to marketing and later as a restaurateur. Johnston's first “real job” was in retail for a company that offered a strong management training program. It was a way for her to blend her creative side as a writer and marketing person with the organization and infrastructure skills required to operate a successful business.
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Johnston rushes up to the stage after winning the chamber award as Gray looks on.
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Photos by Fran Ruchalski
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Kicking off a new rate and fee structure, the continued decline in usage of electricity and preparing for hurricane season were the topics of discussion Tuesday for JEA’s board of directors. The board approved beginning in April the first phase of the JEA SmartSavings demand rate billing structure. Under the plan, residential customers would pay a higher rate per kilowatt for electricity they use when demand for electricity is at its greatest and less for electricity during periods when demand on the system is lower. A similar rate structure is used for most commercial accounts. “Customers will have greater control over their bills,” said JEA Chief Financial Officer Melissa Dykes. They can do that, she said, by not using high-wattage appliances, such as clothes dryers and water heaters, when demand is highest. Peak period in April-October is noon7 p.m., in NovemberMarch, it’s 6-9 a.m., Dykes said. The first phase of Dykes the pilot program will involve 150 customers — split evenly by customers who are JEA employees and non-utility workers. Dykes said more than 200 customers applied for the 75 non-employee spots in the pilot program. “At this point, we have a waiting list,” she said. The second phase of the pilot program is scheduled to begin in 2018 with as many as 2,000 customers participating. No matter how customers are billed or when they use electricity, they are using less of it and that’s creating a “significant sales challenge,” Dykes said. She reported electric sales since Oct. 1 are 25 percent below the same period a year ago and at the lowest level in nearly
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