Over the last five years Union Pacific’s workforce has steadily declined, dropping from 42,919 employees in 2016 to 31,490 in 2022.
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 an average decline in revenue and the implementation of efficiency measures. Their freight revenue fluctuates since 2014, but increased from 21.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to 23.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. 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.
Number of Union Pacific's employees from FY 2013 to FY 2023
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Union Pacific. (February 4, 2022). Number of Union Pacific's employees from FY 2013 to FY 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/547736/number-of-employees-union-pacific-railroad/
Union Pacific. "Number of Union Pacific's employees from FY 2013 to FY 2023." Chart. February 4, 2022. Statista. Accessed December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/547736/number-of-employees-union-pacific-railroad/
Union Pacific. (2022). Number of Union Pacific's employees from FY 2013 to FY 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/547736/number-of-employees-union-pacific-railroad/
Union Pacific. "Number of Union Pacific's Employees from Fy 2013 to Fy 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 4 Feb 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/547736/number-of-employees-union-pacific-railroad/
Union Pacific, Number of Union Pacific's employees from FY 2013 to FY 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/547736/number-of-employees-union-pacific-railroad/ (last visited December 21, 2024)
Number of Union Pacific's employees from FY 2013 to FY 2023 [Graph], Union Pacific, February 4, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/547736/number-of-employees-union-pacific-railroad/