Does Watco Companies pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Watco Companies employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Watco Companies. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Watco Companies?

66% of Watco Companies employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Watco Companies 3.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Watco Companies?

Railroad Conductor (12) , Conductor (10) , Operator (10) , Manager (9) , Engineer (6) , Switchman (6) , Customer Service Representative (5) , Account Manager (4) , Locomotive Engineer (4) , Locomotive Engineer/Conductor (4) , Safety Manager (3) , Supervisor (3) , Account and Administrative Coordinator (2) , Accountant (2) , Analyst (2)

What are the pros of working at Watco Companies according to real employee reviews?

"Good Benefits and vacation package" ((in 29 reviews)); "Good people to work with" ((in 21 reviews)); "Good team members most people are friendly." ((in 8 reviews)); "friendly work environment" ((in 6 reviews)); "Railroad retirement" ((in 6 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Watco Companies according to real employee reviews?

"Shift work and bad management" ((in 29 reviews)); "Upper management has lost touch with their sites and only concerned with spending." ((in 11 reviews)); "6 different managers in the last 3 years." ((in 7 reviews)); "Long hours, but it is railroading afterall" ((in 6 reviews)); "Bad leadership." ((in 4 reviews))

What are employees saying about Watco Companies layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Watco Companies layoffs and their outlook for job security at Watco Companies in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Watco Companies locations?

Pittsburg , Houston , Overland Park , Wichita , Kansas City , Birmingham , Madison , Osceola , Springdale , Tioga , Tuscaloosa , Oklahoma City , Toledo , Baton Rouge , Ferndale , Cherryvale , Linden , Wood River , Janesville , Tulsa , Hawesville , Wright , Austin , Freeport , Belle , Whiting , Keenesburg , Minden , Fitzgerald , Newark

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Watco Companies

Watco Companies reviews

3.5

66% would recommend to a friend

(286 total reviews)

Dan Smith

77% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.5

Culture & values

3.5

Work/Life balance

3.5

Career opportunities

3.4

Compensation and benefits

3.3

Diversity & inclusion

3.2

Senior management

Watco Companies has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 286 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Watco Companies employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Transportation & Logistics industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

286 reviews

1.0

Aug 21, 2019

Poor management

Supervisor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It’s a job that is all

Cons

Poor middle management. They are closing shops. Zero communication, managers don’t respond to emails or answer phones. They are always in a meeting. They bought a bunch of mobile locations and they are forcing the employees that came with these locations out. Finding any reason they can to get rid of them. Closing some locations or forcing them to go to other Watco shops. Which becomes a hostile environment

Watco Companies Response

Although your feedback is not positive, it's important that we get perspectives from across the Watco network. At Watco, it's important that you never feel it's just a job, but that you have career opportunities here. It's most certainly never a goal to close a Watco location, but at times tough business decisions have to be made. If you want to discuss any improvement ideas further, please email me at rpeterson@watcocompanies.com.

1.0

Jul 25, 2019

Never Again

Operator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits, good pay.

Cons

Poor management, management is lazy, very shady, shows a lot of favoritism, don’t expect a notice for a lay-off, don’t expect severance pay either.

Watco Companies Response

If you are willing to discuss your concerns further, please reach out to rpeterson@watcocompanies.com. It's important to us that we take feedback from our Team Members (and former Team Members) to ensure we're constantly getting better.

1.0

Jun 21, 2019

Associate

Freight team associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It was close. Hours were not bad and union insurance was good. The other benefits were fair not great but not the worst. If they ran the place like gateway they would have a world class operation instead of a cluster.

Cons

I interviewed and what they told me I would be doing was the not what I did at all. Total misrepresentation of the job.. I quit after like 5 hours. I guess they were not happy they found every deduction and paid me a whole 2.79. Very shady, not like the honest and fair watco people of gateway. If it watco and not gateway run like hell.

Viewing 40 - 42 of 286 Reviews

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