About 2,000 truck drivers, warehouse and dock workers, and office personnel of Humble, Texas-based U.S. Logistics Solutions (USLS), formerly Forward Air Solutions, say they were blindsided late Thursday when they were notified via conference calls or by text messages that the company was ceasing operations and that they would not receive paychecks Friday.
Eric Culberson, former president of USLS, confirmed the closure in a LinkedIn post on Saturday, stating that thousands of workers were without jobs after the company’s owner, private equity firm Ten Oaks Group, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, shuttered operations.
“Due to the abrupt decision by our private ownership group to close our doors at the same time business was surging, I am completely devastated and heartbroken for the 2000+professionals I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” Culberson wrote. “The timing of this closure did not give me the chance to thank my team for their commitment and support to our customers and to each other.”
Ten Oaks Group has not issued a statement about the closure. Curtis Griner, managing partner and general counsel for Ten Oaks Group, did not respond to FreightWaves’ request seeking comment about when the former USLS workers should expect to receive their final paychecks and paid time off.
At the time of its closure, the company had undergone several rounds of layoffs in the past few months, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
USLS, a logistics company that provided last-mile handling and distribution of time-sensitive products, had 500 drivers and 732 power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website. The FMCSA database shows the company’s insurance coverage remains active and its safety scores are far below the national averages for both drivers and vehicle inspections. The trucking company had one fatal crash, five injuries and 12 tow-aways over the past 24-month period.
In February 2021, FreightWaves reported that Forward Air was selling its Pool Distribution unit to Ten Oaks Group for $20 million. The unit consisted of $8 million in cash and up to a $12 million earn-out dependent upon financial performance.
According to its website, USLS was Ten Oaks Group’s first transportation acquisition. After acquiring Forward Air Solutions of Greeneville, Tennessee, the firm renamed it USLS and moved its headquarters to Humble.
Some former USLS employees, who spoke to FreightWaves on the condition of anonymity, said they were notified by payroll company ADP about the closure. They also said Ten Oaks Group was struggling to obtain further financing with its lenders, which forced the private equity firm to abruptly close USLS.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission website, USLS had not filed a notice of its impending closure prior to closing on Thursday. The company’s website is no longer working.
Employers with more than 100 employees are required to notify workers as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. WARN requires employers to provide their employees with a 60-day notice of a massive layoff.
USLS operated 19 terminals, mainly on the Eastern side of the country, prior to shuttering operations.
This is a developing story.
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Rick R
Just to be “OCD” …
The city name is pronounced UMble. The H is SILENT.
The reason is that it was named after THE FIRST POSTMASTER there, NOT the WORD “humble”.
Herman monster
Company should give people a two weeks notice because that’s required by employees to give a two weeks notice to the company so why the double standard
Rodney Lynch
Get rid of all these illegals from the use and every thing will be okay 👍 👌
Harold Hall
The top management personnel and CEO all should be required to reveal how much severance pay they received. Who made the decisions to not disclose that the company was closing.
Laura
Lesson learned when a private equity firm tries to buy your employer. The Oak Group got over their heads with this deal, and the truckers are paying the consequence. Should have left the deal on the table. Plus it was the group first time doing a deal in this industry.
Cliff Bruton
My guess is that U.S. logistics would have expected a 2 weeks notice of resignation
Steven Strimling
Just for clarification, a company’s safety score being below average means its CSA score is better than average. A little confusing, but leave it to the government to come up with these ways of doing it!
Tom Stough
The WARN ACT is only useful to a small degree. Pennies on the dollar is all any employee will recieve in lost compensation.