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FedEx Freight announces another round of driver furloughs

Company acts in response to weaker demand conditions

Mark Solomon
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FedEx Freight did not disclose the number of furloughed drivers, nor did it state how long they might be furloughed. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload unit of FedEx Corp., (NYSE: FDX) announced late Friday it has enacted another round of temporary driver furloughs in some U.S. markets in what it called an effort to “align our workforce with operational requirements.”

The unit did not disclose the number of furloughed drivers, nor did it state how long they might be furloughed.

Some eligible employees will be offered permanent transfer opportunities to other markets that have hiring needs, according to a FedEx statement. FedEx Freight will maintain health benefits and provide other financial incentives for furloughed employees. 

The company also said it “will continue to evaluate the environment and bring back furloughed employees as business circumstances allow.”


In November, FedEx Freight announced 90-day furloughs of an undetermined number of drivers. Those furloughs started in December.

Like other LTL carriers, FedEx Freight has been impacted by weaker volumes stemming from a decline in industrial production activity. Industrial shipments are LTL carriers’ livelihood.

Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.