WATERVILLE — Twenty-one union positions at the CSX rail yard on College Avenue are being moved to locations in New York and Maryland.

Austin Staton, director of CSX media relations, said Tuesday in an email that effective March 1, CSX “will relocate 21 mechanical roles in Waterville to facilities in Selkirk, New York, and Cumberland, Maryland, to better utilize resources and personnel.”

CSX, with headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, operates freight lines from southern Maine north through Waterville and beyond, including a spur to Bucksport, shipping mostly paper and forest products.

According to labor agreements, affected employees have the opportunity to move to those two locations and continue working for CSX, according to Staton, “with CSX covering their moving expenses, or alternatively to elect a separation allowance based on their years of service.”

Staton didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking more details on why the positions are being moved.

Jason Gibbs, general chairman of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Rail Division District 19, said Tuesday he thinks the shift is about profitability.

“The biggest thing we feel is that it’s just a typical railroad thing where railroads are reducing to try to save money for their shareholders,” he said. “It’s very common for railroads to furlough or reduce force to increase profits for the shareholders.”

IAM represents nine of the 21 positions targeted, Gibbs said. Of the nine, two workers plan to transfer to the Maryland site and seven plan to be separated from CSX.

“That will just leave five machinists working at that (Waterville) location,” Gibbs said.

All of the workers are close to retirement and are either 60 or will be within two years, according to Gibbs. He said some have worked a total of more than 30 years at the Waterville site, both for CSX and the former owner, Pan Am Railways.

He said CSX told the workers in December they were not being efficient in their work and the work could be done more efficiently in New York and Maryland. He said it was the first time they were ever told they weren’t producing like the company wanted them to.

Asked if he thinks the layoffs are in any way related to tariffs, Gibbs said, “No. I don’t think that tariffs had anything to do with that.”

IAM is an affiliate union of the Maine AFL-CIO, a federation of more than 200 unions in Maine. Andy O’Brien of the Maine AFL-CIO referred questions about the CSX layoffs to Gibbs.

The Maine AFL-CIO’s website says impacted workers at CSX include members of IAM Local 318, SMART-Mechanical, SMART-Transportation, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers at the Waterville Engine House and Back Shop.

“The company began furloughing employees last year and recently laid off about 5% of its non-union workforce to boost profits for shareholders,” the website says. “CSX operations run from Maine to Florida. Just five machinists and four electricians will remain on the site after March 1.”