Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern expect 1,000+ job cuts and 500+ transfers in deal

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern project 1,138 workforce reductions and 546 transfers from their proposed deal, they disclosed in a filing Monday.

• Union Pacific employed more than 29,000 workers and Norfolk Southern had more than 19,000 as of the end of 2025.

Why it matters: The Surface Transportation Board ordered employee impacts be reported publicly by Monday.

Between the lines: The exhibit was already filed with the STB as confidential, but the board decided it wasn't privileged information.

Zoom in: Union Pacific job cuts are based on attrition assumptions and were factored into Norfolk Southern considerations, the railroads said.

By the numbers: The railroads expect nearly 700 job eliminations in the first year, nearly 300 in the second, and almost 160 in the third.

• About 20 transfers are expected in the first year, 370 in the second and 150 in the third. The railroads say they expect to create 1,200 net new union jobs by the third year of integration.

State of play: Rail unions are split on the deal.

• The combined railroad's largest union, SMART-TD, supported it in a deal for a jobs-for-life guarantee for its members. That guarantee extends to all unionized employees working at the railroads when the deal closes.

• Teamsters-affiliated unions are opposing it, and they plan to make noise as the midterms approach.

What they're saying: "Employees benefit from new economic opportunities," Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena wrote to the STB.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add the amount of net new union jobs the railroads are projecting will be created by year three of integration, and to note the jobs-for-life guarantee extends to all unionized employees.