Thread regarding Union Pacific Corp. layoffs

OP here. I am 100% not a person of power. I am a peon in this company, however I’ve been through this multiple times at 2 other companies before coming to UP 6 years ago. This is the new norm in corporate America. It’s all about profits, not the people. When I said there are no emotions involved, that is from a company standpoint. Don’t think for a second any general director on up made an emotional decision to keep someone because of their current situation. We are names and numbers on paper that perform a service. The people that make the decisions don’t care who we are, just that we’re expendable. Even as people are leaving and work load isn’t going away, all the sr leadership team, board, and share holders see is profits and stock points. That will not change, ever. I have been fortunate at each company I’ve worked for, and have never been laid off. I’ve always worked hard, shown my value to the company and have survived. After 12 years in the workforce, and three different careers, I accept that this is the norm

In corporate America. When I came to UP in 2013, it was in real how sheltered the company was from the real world and how we handled our operating ratio. I was astonished at how much waste we had by having departments of 10+ people doing a job that could be handled by 2. Since I joined, things have changed, and the business world finally caught up with the railroad. It may have been because of Hunter, or we may have been the long standing untapped business model. It was only a matter of time before reality hit UP. Investors wised up to our inefficient operations and waste at HQ. New board members recognized this and saw an opportunity when Jim passed. UP is now part of the corporate norm of squeeze profits, no matter the cost. Ethical or not, this is the norm. Hell, this is what our country believes in, look at who’s in office. The pres Ran his businesses worse than UP and he made a killing because he didn’t pay the people who did the work, and he dodged taxes. That’s you’re typical CEO and board member. No political debates, because there are very few politicians who don’t think like this, left, right or middle. They don’t care about us, they only care about getting re-elected to further their personal interests. Right or wrong, that’s business now. Look out for yourself and that’s it. I hate it, but it’s reality.

You must be one of the top few who keep their job no matter what results you get. The problem with your statement isn't that they are cutting unnecessary work. The workload is staying the same but the headcount is shrinking. Fewer people doing more work for very little pay. A few privalleged people have all the power and abuse it. It may have always been this way but that doesn't mean it's ethical or right. Addionally, CEO salaries have been soaring compared to the average workers for decades now. When will it end? The many suffer for the benefit of a few. It's not sustainable.

I think your statement of no emotions involved is wrong! Emotions play the biggest part when cuts like this happen! Emotions will usually change how a person thinks dramatically! The PSR plan has been claimed to work, but at what cost? Whether you're a new employee or an old employee, a job termination is incredibly difficult to deal with! There's an article right staring that the NS is now adopting the same plan! The catch is that the total revenue has gone way down with the railroads that adopted it! Yeah profit margins are higher, but the revenue is still lower than it used to be! Investors look at profit ratios and dividends! They DO NOT care about total revenue! The higher the profit ratio equals a higher return! Which completely dismisses the reality that the railroad barely makes a profit to maintain its service quality! Traditionally prices always go up, not down! The design of the PSR plan doesn't compute for that! When future pricing goes up, then obviously costs will go up! More cuts will happen to help mitigate the extra costs! In the end, overall velocity will tank, no crews or personnel to do the work, and the inevitable crash will happen! God bless to the ones this is affecting! There's good and bad in every job! You have to stay strong and move on!