Don't work in IT in Minneapolis if you don't want to be bullied by the Canadian Management - Information Technology CPKC Employee Review

1.0
21 Nov 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Can not think of any compared to other IT companies in the Minneapolis Twin Cities metro area. Work here only if you do not have any other options.

Cons

IT in Minneapolis is fully controlled by Management in Canada and they are not competent and they use a culture of fear and intimidation to get things done. Work life balance is terrible, the work hours are very long, and there is no appreciation. Canada IT Management have been with the company for 15+ years and are not willing to make changes or improvements. Pay is about 15% below market and they deduct a percentage of your pay where you are not eligible to withdraw the money until you have completed 3 years with the company. Expect to be required to go on a "train conductor training" even if you work in IT where you will spend weeks in dirty train yards and travel on company commercial trains for months to become a "train conductor".

Explore other reviews about CPKC

5.0
20 Dec 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
29 May 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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