Seven years after wooing Norfolk Southern, Atlanta may lose its HQ in merger

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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Trainees at work at the Norfolk Southern Training Center in McDonough on Friday, March 7, 2025.
While the jobs of crewmen and signalmen who staff the railroad’s physical infrastructure are usually safe during mergers, operations and clerical employees often face job cuts as the companies look for savings. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

‘A lot of anxiety and concern’

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Credit: Miguel Martinez

The Norfolk Southern headquarters building looms over West Peachtree Street NE in Atlanta in 2023. It has employed about 3,000 people since it opened in 2021. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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From left, Georgia Gov.-Elect Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development Pat Wilson celebrated the railroad’s move to Atlanta at a December 2018 press conference. (Alyssa Pointer/AJC 2018)

How it happened

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