On Sunday afternoon, the Yellow Trucking Company abruptly stopped operating, laying off almost 30,000 people, including hundreds in Copley Township and Richfield Village.
Shutting Down of Yellow Trucking Company Â
According to a memo obtained by the Akron Beacon Journal, managers were instructed to have all workers at their facilities “clock out and leave the premises” by 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The memo also directed them to lock the gates by noon and provide photos of the secured gates by 12:30 p.m.
A semi tractor-trailer positioned alongside the road obstructed the entrance to YRC Freight’s Richfield facility on Sunday. A laminated sign affixed to the gate conveyed the message, “Important Notice: All Company operations have ceased starting from Sunday, July 30, 2023, at 12:00 noon EDT,” impacting both valued customers and employees.
The third-largest trucking firm in the US, Yellow, is facing financial difficulties, including huge debt, and is in conflict with its unionized employees. The business owed about $1.5 billion in debt as of the end of March. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yellow has been losing clients because of rumors about its financial problems circulating. The business just informed non-union staff of its intention to stop “normal operations” on Friday. According to FreightWaves, a freight market price reporting company, a senior vice president at Yellow purportedly said during a virtual conference call on Friday that a bankruptcy filing was anticipated to take place on Monday.
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Shutting Down of Yellow Trucking Company – Photo by: (The New York Times)
How did the sudden closure of Yellow Trucking Company happen?
The Yellow Corp facility in Richfield has a sign displayed outside on Sunday, July 30, 2023, directing union workers to contact their union leader. A telephone number was also included for customer-related inquiries. On Monday, the corporation is expected to release a statement outlining its current situation. The Teamsters Union reports that Yellow employs approximately 600 workers at its facilities in Summit County, despite the March shutdown of its Green factory, which had 107 employees.
On Friday, major media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press reported that Yellow, a Kansas-based company, faced an inevitable bankruptcy due to its deteriorating financial prospects and ongoing conflicts with unions. The co-chair of the Teamsters committee involved in negotiations with the company, John A. Murphy, sent a letter to members on the same day, expressing concerns about the company’s survival. He stated that there was no positive news to report, and Yellow’s chances of staying afloat were diminishing.
The company seemed to be implementing cost-cutting measures, including personnel layoffs and terminal closures nationwide. Despite the challenging situation, the Teamsters pledged to continue working with Yellow to address its financial challenges.
