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CN Rail has made the “difficult decision” to lay off an unspecified number of workers and take other measures to reflect demand.

A spokesperson for CN said some employees would be placed on furlough and management and union job numbers would be cut “due to a weakening of many sectors of the economy.”

“These adjustments have already started to take place across the network,” senior media relations adviser Alexandre Boulé said in an emailed statement.

“CN would like to express gratitude to the employees who will be leaving the company and thank them for their service.”

He would not confirm how many jobs would be affected.

The news was first reported by the Globe and Mail on Friday afternoon, citing a source that was not authorized to speak publicly. The Globe reported that there would be roughly 1,600 job losses in North America.

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According to its website, CN transports more than $250 billion worth of goods annually across its 32,000-kilometre rail network within Canada and the U.S.

The company says it has about 24,000 staff.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as information becomes available.