As the impact of the coronavirus continues to course through the economy, freight and logistics companies across Texas have announced job reductions affecting more than 660 workers.
According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices filed in Texas, companies with layoffs in the freight, logistics or distribution industry include Pinnacle Logistics, Tincup Water Solutions, Maines Paper and Food Service, Kirchhoff Automotive Dallas and Trico Products Corp.
Pinnacle Logistics, an aviation and trucking company, announced it will be laying off 134 people and permanently cease operations at its facility at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The layoffs include 126 warehouse workers, seven managers and one general manager.
Tincup Water Solutions, a carrier just south of San Antonio in Stockdale, Texas, announced it was laying off 127 employees. The company has a fleet of 12 trucks and employs 12 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Food service distributor Maines Paper and Food Service is laying off 41 employees at its warehouse and logistics operation in Terrell, Texas. The layoffs include 16 truck drivers and five freight handlers.
Two other companies that announced layoffs are Kirchhoff Automotive Dallas and Trico Products Corp. While neither is a freight or logistics company, both companies are automotive parts manufacturers, which affects cross-border freight shipments.
German auto parts maker Kirchhoff Automotive Dallas announced it is furloughing 148 employees at its plant in Garland, Texas.
“This mass layoff is the result primarily of Honda, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation announcing on March 18, 2020, that they are suspending operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kirchhoff Automotive is therefore providing you with as much notice as practicable given the circumstances,” the company said in a statement to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Kirchhoff opened its auto parts plant in Garland in 2012 and had as many as 200 workers there at one time. Kirchhoff said it is unclear when production at its plant in Garland would resume and employees would be “recalled.”
Trico Products Corp., which manufactures wiper blades for cars, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, is laying off 212 employees at its plant in Brownsville, Texas.
Trico Products is based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The company employees more than 6,000 employees around the world, according to its website.
With businesses closed across Texas and around the world due to the coronavirus, everything from hotels, restaurants, to oil and gas companies are also eliminating jobs. Here is a look at all the companies that filed layoff notices in Texas as of March 31.
