Union Pacific CEO predicts railroad won’t have any furloughed employees within a year
By APThursday, July 22, 2010
Union Pacific says furloughed workers coming back
NEW YORK — Union Pacific will recall most of its furloughed employees within a year, the CEO of the nation’s largest railroad said Thursday.
The company currently has about 2,300 furloughed employees, compared with a peak of 5,300 in June of last year.
“I think in the next year, we’re going to be close (to zero.) That’s a function of where the economy is going from here,” CEO Jim Young said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Growth continues but it’s a pretty slow rate.”
Young said the railroad, based in Omaha, Neb., will work to replace employees lost through normal attrition with furloughed employees and new hires.
“We just started to do some hiring — it’s been a long time since we’ve been in the market,” Young said.
The company said Thursday that shipping volume grew in all six of its business segments during the second quarter — the first time that’s happened in six years. Railroads are indicators of broader economic health because they ship so many goods for consumers and businesses.
Second-quarter net income leaped 53 percent to $711 million. Revenue rose 27 percent.
Shares of Union Pacific Corp. rose $3.28, or 4.8 percent, to close at $72.40.
