The Union Pacific railroad is extending its temporary shutdown of the De Soto car shops to late June, the company announced in a May 21 letter to employees.
“Business levels will again be reviewed the week of June 22 to determine if the facilities will reopen on July 1,” System Car Facility Director Adam Fisher wrote in the letter.
Union Pacific previously announced on May 4 that because of an “unprecedented” decline in business during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was temporarily closing the car shops and furloughing the estimated 200 to 300 employees who work there. It had set a date of May 18 to reevaluate business conditions for a possible resumption of operations on June 1.
“After an extensive review of our business levels, the decision has been made to extend this temporary shutdown for another month,” Fisher wrote in the letter.
De Soto City Manager Todd Melkus said he has learned there is some construction activity going on at the De Soto car shops. “That, to me, is a good sign that they’re obviously not expecting to stay closed too awful long, if they’re working on equipment over there,” he said.
Union Pacific also has temporarily closed its Jenks Locomotive Facility in North Little Rock, Ark., and an equipment-maintenance center in Denver, furloughing employees at those two locations as well.
Union Pacific’s presence in De Soto dates back to 1872, when the city donated 55 acres of land for the Iron Mountain railroad machine shops.