Approximately 65 employees for Pittsburgh-based Elite Transit Solutions were laid off via Microsoft Teams on Friday. This is the second round of job cuts the freight brokerage has experienced over the past month; about 20 employees were let go on Oct. 20 because of the “current economic situation,” according to sources familiar with the layoffs.
One former employee who was fired on Friday’s call told FreightWaves that Elite Transit Solutions’ CEO Michael D. Johnson didn’t allow workers to submit questions using the chat function and muted their microphones so they weren’t able to ask questions. After the call ended, their computer access was cut.
“We all had questions about when we would get paid for working these last two weeks and if we would get paid for our vacation time we had accrued,” the ex-employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told FreightWaves. “We were told to email human resources if we had any questions, but our [vice president] of HR left a day before we found out our jobs were being eliminated. Who is left to respond to our emails?”
Melissa Bucci, former vice president of people and culture at Elite Transit Solutions, confirmed the layoffs via LinkedIn on Friday, stating that she was sorry she didn’t “have an opportunity to say goodbye.”
At its peak, the company had around 140 workers, another source familiar with the layoffs at Elite Transit Solutions told FreightWaves, but is down to around 10 people, including Johnson.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Elite Transit also has offices in North Carolina, Chicago and Arizona.
The company hasn’t announced it is ceasing operations and is in “talks with another freight brokerage about a possible merger,” according to multiple sources.
“At this point, we aren’t sure what is true and what is not, but the writing has been on the walls for months that Elite hasn’t been doing well and is struggling to secure financing and pay carriers,” the source said.
While Johnson, who founded the logistics company in 2013, initially agreed to speak with FreightWaves about the ongoing financial situation at Elite Transit Solutions, he later declined to comment.
Some carriers haven’t been paid since May
One former employee said he became aware of Elite Transit Solutions’ shaky financial situation soon after he was hired. He said nearly 80% of the inbound calls were from trucking companies that hadn’t been paid for loads they hauled for the brokerage since May or June. They were instructed to transfer the calls to the billing department, which went to voicemail, but claimed that no one answered the phones.
“We were cut off by almost every factoring company you can think of,” the ex-Elite Transit employee told FreightWaves. “It got so bad that the factoring companies were taking money back from the carriers because the contract was between the factoring company and the carrier, not with Elite.”
“We heard from carriers that were forced to close their trucking companies, including one that had to sell his business and his home, because we hadn’t paid him,” the source said. “We received an email from the wife of a carrier owner whose husband attempted suicide and blamed Elite for not paying him.”
Carriers have been posting warnings about payment issues with Elite Transit Solutions since May.
Elite Transit Solutions also urged independent trucking companies to use its “preferred factoring partner,” Connect Capital LLC, headquartered in Miami, writing on its website that “in most cases, Elite drivers get paid in less than 24 hours.”
The business address for Connect Capital is listed as a townhome which was purchased by Johnson for nearly $2.2 million in March 2022. Johnson, who is listed as the only authorized member for Connect Capital. The Florida secretary of state’s office filed to have Connect Capital administratively dissolved for failing to file an annual report in September.
“Why did they continue to hire people knowing they were on shaky ground,” the source said. “These recent layoffs have put the livelihoods of several people and their families in jeopardy.”
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