Union Pacific Railroad's employees 2013-2021
Over the last five years Union Pacific’s workforce has steadily declined, dropping from 42,919 employees in 2016 to 29,905 in 2021.
U.S. freight rail operators
Union Pacific is one of the seven U.S. class I freight rail operators, being the group of the largest freight rail operators in the U.S. all with annual operating revenues of more than 250 million U.S. dollars (in 1991 dollars). In terms of operating revenue, Union Pacific is the second largest of the class I operators, slightly behind BNSF. Based on market value though, Union Pacific is the largest railway company in the world.
Union Pacific’s revenue
The declining employee count of Union Pacific appears to be due to a combination of declining revenue and the implementation of efficiency measures. Their freight revenue fluctuates since 2014, and dropped from 21.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to 20.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Concurrently, their revenue tone-miles followed a declining trend between 2014 and 2016, and started to improve slightly since 2017 until the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, over this time, Union Pacific’s operating ratio has been improving, indicating the introduction of cost-saving measures.
U.S. freight rail operators
Union Pacific is one of the seven U.S. class I freight rail operators, being the group of the largest freight rail operators in the U.S. all with annual operating revenues of more than 250 million U.S. dollars (in 1991 dollars). In terms of operating revenue, Union Pacific is the second largest of the class I operators, slightly behind BNSF. Based on market value though, Union Pacific is the largest railway company in the world.
Union Pacific’s revenue
The declining employee count of Union Pacific appears to be due to a combination of declining revenue and the implementation of efficiency measures. Their freight revenue fluctuates since 2014, and dropped from 21.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to 20.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Concurrently, their revenue tone-miles followed a declining trend between 2014 and 2016, and started to improve slightly since 2017 until the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, over this time, Union Pacific’s operating ratio has been improving, indicating the introduction of cost-saving measures.
