DECEMBER 21, 2025 — RED FLAGS FLYING
As Norfolk Southern moves forward with its merger with Union Pacific, the warning signs are impossible to ignore.
Buried inside a massive 7,000-page filing to the Surface Transportation Board is a blunt reality: while Atlanta is promised a vague future as a “regional operating center” and “technology hub,” more than half of the city’s office workforce will be phased out through job cuts or forced relocations.
Roughly 26% of the workforce—about 537 positions—will be eliminated over the next three years. Another 26%, around 546 jobs, will be moved to Omaha, where the merged company plans to set up its headquarters. Meanwhile, Omaha itself sees far lighter reductions, with just over 150 jobs cut. No field employees will lose their jobs.
JANUARY 25, 2024 — 7% OF NON-UNION WORKFORCE
CEO Alan Shaw NOTED, “The overall macroeconomic environment and prolonged weak freight market has limited the amount of business we can attract, and our cost structure is too high for our top line.”
The layoffs will impact 330 employees.
JULY 22, 2021 — ENGINE HOUSE IN CRESSON, PENNSYLVANIA, CLOSED
The company has announced that it will close its Cresson, Pennsylvania, engine house at the end of July. The closure will affect 7 employees.
A Norfolk spokesperson noted that the closure “is part of our long-term business plans to evolve our operations to best serve the needs of our customers.”
JULY 10, 2021— 86 LAYOFFS IN ALTOONA LOCOMOTIVE SHOP
The company has announced the layoff of 86 employees from its mechanical department at its Juniata Locomotive Shop. The layoffs are part of the company’s long-term business plan.
JANUARY 12, 2021 — 17 LAYOFFS IN ALTOONA LOCOMOTIVE SHOP
The company has announced the layoff of 17 mechanical workers at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pennsylvania, including 10 carmen, six boilermakers, and one laborer.
A company spokesperson noted that the layoffs were “needed to align our operations with the current economy.”
NOVEMBER 5, 2019 — ANOTHER 95 EMPLOYEES IN ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA
A company spokesperson noted, “Today, Norfolk Southern's Mechanical Department announced furloughs for 95 employees at its Juniata Locomotive Shop. These furloughs are part of the railroad's organizational realignment announced earlier this year.
Consistent with our strategic plan and current business levels, our ability to streamline operations and use fewer locomotives has necessitated the difficult but necessary decision to reduce our mechanical forces for locomotives, given the decreased demand for locomotive maintenance and repair. Norfolk Southern will continue to evaluate staffing needs as our business evolves.”
SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 — Previous post…
Norfolk, Virginia-based Norfolk Southern Railway, a Tier-1 freight railroad, has announced the layoffs of 230 workers in their two locomotive repair facilities in Roanoke, Virginia, including 80 employees from their East End Shop and 50 from their Shaffer’s Crossing Shop, and another 100 employees in the company’s Juniata Locomotive facility in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
According to a Norfolk Southern spokesperson, “In today’s rapidly changing environment, Norfolk Southern continues to focus on ensuring that we have the optimal number of people and assets at every location across our system in order to operate safely and efficiently. As we execute our new strategic plan, we expect that targeted hiring and furloughing will remain components of our operating model. Today, that entailed furloughing approximately 130 employees in Roanoke, Virginia. Consistent with our strategic plan and current business levels, our ability to streamline operations and use fewer locomotives has necessitated the difficult but necessary decision to reduce our mechanical forces for locomotives, given the decreased demand for locomotive repair. Norfolk Southern will continue to evaluate staffing needs as our business evolves.” A similar statement was issued confirming the layoffs in Altoona. This is the second layoff at the Juniata Locomotive facility after 50 employees were laid off in May 2019.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
