Thread regarding Union Pacific Corp. layoffs

@bfy Do you remember what the stock price was before the hearings took place? Once the RR's got put in the spotlight, the stock prices fell. So to say the shareholders didn't care about the hearings, was just a bad statement to make. We all know it's about the money to them. Do you think the shareholders are still happy with the smaller profits they're getting, versus what they were getting? Think about it

One thing that didn't help, at least on the mechanical side of things, is that UP had a massive hiring spree in 2015 for PTC. New hires were assured they would be absorbed in the company through attrition as the railroad didn't usually lay off in the mechanical department. In December of 2015, UP then laid off all those new hires, quite a few of them had relocated to work for UP. In Aug 2016, UP called back all those people laid off. When questioned why they got laid off, they were told that PTC actually fell under the transportation department for budgeting reasons and they were laid off due to the transportation side of the house laid them off.

Fast forward to 2019, UP laid off and closed several locations due to PSR. I was among one of those 2015 new hires who relocated for UP. After getting laid off, I chose to get my degree and when UP called me back this year, I declined as I have a better, more stable job with upward mobility in a great company.

UP, and I would say the other railroads, shot themselves in the feet by treating their employees as willing to have an unstable work environment. They figured throwing money at people would ensure they could have a workforce that would ebb and flow with the economical changes. What they are starting to see, most people want a stable work place, not one that will lay them off at a moment's notice. Where I worked, we had almost 60 people in the mechanical department. UP only got around 10 to come back. The rest moved on with their life.

Like getting bad service, word of mouth can devastate a business. This is what is happening to the railroads. No one really wants to work for a company who will call you on your time off and inform you you no longer have a job. As such, no one is applying for open positions and this is why UP is exploring hiring felons. They are unable to maintain a stable workforce due to their own actions. I agree, PSR didn't cause the problem, neither did PTC. It was treating their workforce as one that would be willing to get laid off on a whim. They are now realizing that their workforce isn't willing to be treated that way.

Unless they change their mentality regarding layoffs, throwing money at the problem won't be a long term fix. It might get people in the short term, but come next layoff, they will loose a large percentage of them as well.

TLDR

The CEO’s and shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank. They don’t care about the STB meetings. Anyone that has worked for the railroads for awhile knows there has been several times when there were horrible service issues and STB hearings then also. The truth is nothing will change and the people running these companies will stay in place as long as the companies are making the huge profits they are showing now.

BUT.....PSR was designed to line the pockets of the shareholders. Did you happen to see the Class One CEOs salaries???