In Calgary - don't bother - Anonymous employee CPKC Employee Review

1.0
Jul 18, 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- people on the front lines, in the field AND in the office still trying to do their best. - more accountability in some areas with new management

Cons

- New CEO is a hypocrite - says he values people but just cares about the reason he was brought in - increase share price - You are expected to be available 24/7 - whether in the field or in the office - your life means nothing, even if your wife is in labour - To quote HR they aim for compensation to be middle of the road - doesn't work in Calgary if you want the best and brightest - but wait those people are quitting in droves anyway - Internal jobs no longer posted, you have to tell them exactly what role you want and hope someone likes you enough to call you up when that comes around - Mandatory conductor training. To quote/paraphrase the CEO "in case it's hunting season" and they need to fill some crews you might get called. - Move to Ogden for Calgary workers - if you live in the NW and can't afford a second car - welcome to 3 hours of transit a day - more when they cancel the "temporary" shuttle from the C-train on the south route. Driving won't be much better as only 2 ways in that won't be able to handle the volume. - Upper management Internal people who have survived the recent changes, performed above and beyond sacrificing their personal lives to make the new vision possible and still maintain respect of their employees get passed over for external hires - so no more moving up due to hard work.

Explore other reviews about CPKC

5.0
Dec 20, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great pay, and benefits, good environment,

Cons

First 3-5 years stressful until you get familiar and understand how railroads work.

1
2.0
May 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of opportunities to provide value

Cons

Poor leadership at the C-level. CIO has no control over the direction of the IT landscape beyond what is dictated to her by the CEO and other business owners. The IT environment is almost solely controlled by the demands of the business at the cost of being able to manage and adapt to needs. 20 years behind the market in the adoption of cloud technology. Existing cloud strategy was built by engineers pressed into the role of architects and learning as they progressed along. No automation or DevOps presence whatsoever outside what the platform teams use to simplify their own workloads. Remote work is considered a 4-letter word and is extremely frowned upon as anything other than an as-needed and pre-approved option. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery are still done using backups and shadow copies of key infrastructure, and those key systems are decided upon at the time the tests are planned instead of testing the company's infrastructure in its entirety. Data centers are geographically separated, but are significantly disparate in what is physically hosted and accessible. Recognition and rewards are overtly encouraged, but are covertly handed out based on the level of visibility and impact to the business and stakeholders. Senior leadership constantly touts open-door policy and approachability, but give off vibes and impressions opposite of the overt policy. The company puts on a show of being diverse and inclusive. Case in point, the hiring of a female CIO. The problem is that working within an 'old boys network' leadership, it doesn't matter how inclusive and diverse the company appears because those elements are never given the opportunity to show their value.

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