Geraldine Knatz 'forced' to retire as Port of Los Angeles chief

Geraldine Knatz 'forced' to retire as Port of Los Angeles chief

GERALDINE Knatz is stepping down as executive director of the Port of Los Angeles at year-end, a position she has held since 2006.

The local Long Beach Press Telegram reported: "Amid rumors that she would be forced out", Ms Knatz's retirement was announced by the office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, following months of declining cargo numbers, much of it flowing from LA to Long Beach.

Mayor Garcetti told reporters earlier this year that he expected some general managers would not be rehired. Her departure has been rumored for months, but gained traction as Mayor Garcetti's first 100 days of office approached.

Ms Knatz arrived at the Port of Los Angeles after 24 years at the Port of Long Beach, where she was the managing director of development and second in command. From the beginning, she was tasked with making the port more environmentally friendly.

She championed the Clean Trucks Programme, an effort to ban owner-operator trucks off the docks because they polluted more. But truckers sued in federal court to block the rules, quashing aspects of the scheme.

Dr Knatz's departure comes just a few months after Christopher Lytle resigned as executive director of neighbouring Long Beach to run the Port of Oakland.

The resignations come as both ports have struggled to attract cargo in recent years. With underlying conditions flat, they have poached each other's container traffic.