OMAHA — Union Pacific will reorganize its marketing and sales structure, consolidating four business groups into three.
Eliminated will be the energy group, which currently handles coal, liquefied petroleum gas, petroleum, petroleum coke, and sand. Coal and petroleum coke will move into the Bulk group — formerly agricultural products — while the other commodities will move into the industrial group. Premium, which includes intermodal and automotive business, remains unchanged.
The changes are effective Jan. 1, 2020.
“This new structure will allow us to better serve our customers while helping Union Pacific remain agile to market conditions,” Kenny Rocker, executive vice president, marketing and sales, said in a press release. “I am excited about the great work the entire Union Pacific team is doing to deliver safe, efficient and reliable service to our customers.”
Umm, no.
I don’t profess to know whether this is a good thing or bad thing (streamlining management sounds good), but I don’t buy the idea that UP can just do whatever it wants.
UP has a responsibility to shareholders not to screw up their company. If they squander the value of what they have, that is at the very least a moral failing to be commented on and perhaps a legal failing worthy of a shareholder lawsuit if it is bad enough (I don’t think this is, but the principal stands).
I don’t have any reason to think this action actually is screwing up their company. But if it was, I don’t believe they should just be able to do so without consequence.
And as a society we need to have things moved. If UP screws up the company, regardless of if it is in pursuit of profits or just incompetence, then we need to figure out how to organize our society so essential functions happen. I happen to believe in the free market, but it is there to serve society, not the other way around.
I know there will be numerous comments about how UP is snafuing themselves (and customers) by doing this. Well that’s just tough beans arm-chair railroaders. UP has the right to do such things whether we like it or not, that’s just the way business goes.
Increasing profits just for Wall Street is not the absolute picture here (and I am not going to debate anyone over this) when a corporation of any kind wants to attempt to stream line their upper management. Other companies outside the railroad world have done the same thing. When the top levels get too many EVP’s and numerous high ranking managers, then things not only become more complicated but decisions take far to long to execute due to too many “chiefs” that may not want to implement what the top has directed them to do. That is one of many problems that has plagued AMTRAK for so long. Here, if UP wants to streamline upper management, that is their choice, and their choice alone.
Waste of time to read about UPRR’s org chart. Who cares?. Move the freight and stop bothering us with the corporate duckspeak.