Big mergers sometimes lead to big layoffs. Might that happen in the Harrisburg area — home to a giant Norfolk Southern hub — if Union Pacific completes its buyout of Norfolk Southern? Probably not, according to one industry expert.

Union Pacific said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the country.