Teamsters say Yellow Corp. bankruptcy affects 582 Dayton jobs

It is said to be largest trucking bankruptcy in U.S. history

Trucking company Yellow Corp. won’t see its 100th anniversary, with its recent bankruptcy threatening tens of thousands of jobs nationally and nearly 600 jobs locally, according to a union representing employees of Yellow.

The bankruptcy of 99-year-old trucking company Yellow will affect 582 Dayton-area jobs, according to a new WARN notice posted by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

According to the state, 339 jobs are affected at one Dayton location, while 243 jobs are affected at another.

The Nashville-based freight provider said Sunday that it had filed for Chapter 11 relief in a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.

“It is with profound disappointment that Yellow announces that it is closing after nearly 100 years in business,” Yellow Chief Executive Darren Hawkins said in a statement.

It is said to be largest trucking bankruptcy in U.S. history, and it has implications for thousands of jobs across the nation.

The WARN notice does not give addresses for affected local work sites. A Jobs and Family Services spokeswoman said the department was working to get additional details.

Yellow Corp. and its operating affiliates YRC Inc., USF Holland LLC, New Penn Motor Express LLC, and USF Reddaway, Inc. “have made the difficult decision to shut down their regular operations on July 30, 2023, permanently close, and permanently lay off and consequently terminate the employment of employees at all of their locations,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union wrote to the state of Ohio in a WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining Notice) Act notice.

To date, the state has not received a WARN notice from Yellow, said Dasia Clemente, a public information officer with the Department of Job and Family Services.

“We decided to process what the Teamsters sent us so that we could engage our rapid response team and help those impacted individuals,” Clemente said.

WARN notices typically come from companies, she added.

“At this time, the company anticipates that the employment of up to approximately 22,000 employees at locations across the company in the United States will be terminated,” the union added in its letter to the state.

Questions were sent to two Teamsters officials. Questions were also sent to a media contact with Yellow.

Also Tuesday, Pennsylvania law firm Sauder Schelkopf said it would litigate the closing of the business on behalf of a client who worked at Yellow for more than 28 years as a dock hand and was terminated.

“We have been contacted by over 100 former employees of Yellow who are now unemployed and looking for answers,” said Joseph Sauder, an attorney with Sauder Schelkopf.

Yellow said it is committed to helping employees find new work. The company said it has partnered with the American Trucking Associations to launch its first searchable job database, specifically for Yellow employees.

For information, those interested may visit www.trucking.org/jobseeker.

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