(Knight Ridder News Service circulated the following story on February 25.)
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Corp. expects to hire about 3,000 people this year, the high end of its 2004 hiring plan, because the economy is improving somewhat more than expected, a spokesman said.
In October, the Omaha-based railroad, which has a freight office in Rupert, had said it planned to hire 2,000 to 3,000 workers in 2004, mostly to replace people who are retiring.
“Everybody expected the economy would be a lot flatter than it turned out to be,” spokesman John Bromley said. “The economy’s rebounded a little faster than we thought it would,” so the railroad’s hiring should reach the 3,000 mark.
Union Pacific hired about 2,400 workers in 2003, adding about 1,000 people to its 46,000-person work force. Bromley said the railroad would need to hire at least 2,000 people a year over the next five years to meet its manpower requirements, also because of expected retirements and growth.
Of the planned hires this year, Bromley said, 121 people will be added in North Platte, Neb., where the railroad has a major transfer point, and 15 at its rail operations in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Most of the jobs will be entry-level train workers, including many conductors, with pay starting at about $40,000 a year.
The other hirings will be spread across the railroad’s 22 other states