The CEO of less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW) said on July 8 that more changes lie ahead for the company following its disclosure it will close the headquarters of regional LTL unit New Penn Motor Express in early September.
In a July 8 memo to employees, Darren D. Hawkins said that the changes, which have not been determined, will be unveiled in the coming months. They are part of YRC’s five-year plan to sustain profitability by building sufficient density in its network and to rationalize the company’s cost to serve based on its forecasted volumes, Hawkins said.
YRC, based in Overland Park, Kansas, has been developing a “network optimization” strategy, a key component of which was the completion of a five-year collective-bargaining agreement with Teamsters union members at the New Penn and Holland regional units, and at its YRC Freight national subsidiary. That contract was ratified in May. Talks with the Teamsters to hammer out a separate agreement with workers at YRC’s Reddaway unit, which serves the West Coast and Pacific Northwest, were continuing as of the middle of June.
Late on Monday, July 8, YRC said it would close New Penn’s headquarters in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, about 90 miles from Philadelphia, on or around September 9. New Penn was founded in Lebanon in 1931 and has been there ever since. New Penn said the action is expected to be subject to federal labor law requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to give workers 60 calendar-day notice of mass layoffs or plant closures. However, a YRC source said that 80 employees may be affected, although the final number is not known.
It is unclear how many New Penn employees will be affected. There are no provisions for employee transfers, re-assignment or bumping, New Penn said. Layoffs will commence starting on or around September 9 and run for about two weeks thereafter, New Penn said.
Speculation began almost immediately on TruckingBoards.com, a bulletin board for unionized employees, as to what YRC’s next move would be. A poster who goes by the handle of “FreightMaster1” surmised that the company may close the Holland and Reddaway headquarters, located in Michigan and Oregon, respectively, and merge them into YRC’s central operation in Overland Park, as it is doing with New Penn.
“If the hourly employees at these two facilities are smart, they’ll contact the closest Teamsters local or the (international headquarters) and get organized… ASAP,” the post read. This way, they might have an opportunity to “`follow the work,’” unlike New Penn’s headquarters staff, the post said.
Separately, YRC said Tuesday it has named Jason W. Bergman as its chief customer officer, replacing Justin Hall, who left the company in June.
Bergman will head the sales teams of the company’s four LTL carrier units and its HNRY Logistics subsidiary, which provides brokerage and transportation management systems (TMS) services to YRC shippers. He will also run the parent’s marketing services business.
Bergman joins YRC from Dallas-based Dicom Transportation Group, where he was chief commercial officer. Bergman began his career at BAX Global, a U.S. transport firm that was acquired by German transport firm Schenker. He spent 14 years at both companies, where he rose to vice president of global sales for the retail vertical market prior to his departure.
Bergman then joined expedited transport firm Dynamex Corp., where he was vice president of North American sales, responsible for all sales and marketing functions.
One of YRC’s former CEOs, James L. Welch, joined the company from Dynamex in July 2011. During his tenure, Welch was credited, along with YRC’s unionized workers who agreed to contract concessions, with saving the company from a bankruptcy filing. Welch retired in 2018.
Hampton mike
What a shame! When I worked at New Penn Maspeth NY we had an 88% ratio making money and was the best in the industry. It went downhill hill right after the Roadway purchase
Sean Durgin
Don’t feel bad ran the Cranston terminal for 22 years never operated over a 73 now I understand operating at 140
Mike
Mark:
Good article
Mike
Trkdrvr
YRC has always been a joke from day one, we stopped making money when Teamsters let this BS merger happen the company has became and will always be a scab operation..and Teamsters helped them ….they took our money ,vacation , and retirement and never did anything they promised except give our work to the purchase transportation co.They won’t close the doors cause it’s too easy to steal the money, and there’s too many weak union members.
Get real
Taking vacation was the biggest slap in the face and scam, because they pay more for you to work that week then if you were off and got a lossy shitty 600.00 for vacation
Joe C
The truckingboards is a source of information for this article???? That site is nothing more than a bunch of anonymous postings. Get a better source. This is lazy journalism.
ORLANDO DEJESUS
EVERY DAY I GO TO WORK I SEE ALL OF THE MISTAKES AND BAD MANAGEMENT THAT HAPPENS IN THIS COMPANY I WORK ON FREIGHT MOST OF MY LIFE AND THEY MUST THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU DONT HAVE A MASTER ON BUSINESS OR WENT TO COLLEGE YOU CAN SEE THE MISTAKES THAT ARE BEING MADE THEY SHOULD LISTEN AND NOT JUST TURN THE OTHER WAY MOST OF US CARE ABOUT THE COMPANY AND IT’S HARD TO HELP PEOPLE THAT THINK THEY KNOW IT ALL I GUESS THATS WHY WE ARE HERE IN THIS SITUATION BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT ALL…….
Heat
It’s always a pencil pushers that screw a business up. if they would work on ground zero with the people, they would know and understand on how to manage it correctly. Because then they get hands-on experience of what’s really going on on the floor and with the employee. just cuz you got a business degree doesn’t make you a smarter… sometimes they’re just better dummies.
Get real
We have Vice Presidents that can’t even read a load chart, and that person came from yellow and runs newpenn, enough said
ORLANDO DEJESUS
This is very hard to see so many people loose there jobs over very bad management..if you come to see years ago they gave themselves big bonuses spent money in un necessary stuff and at the end we the back bone of this company had to pay for all of their mistakes YES WE PAID I WAS ONE OF THEM THAT FOR 10 YEARS WE HAD TO GIVE THEM A 15% OF OUR HARD EARNED MONEY SHAME ON ALL OF MANAGEMENT NEW PENN ALWAYS MADE MONEY AND NOW IT’S BEING DRAG DOWN BY THE OTHERS NOW ALL THOSE PEOPLE THAT STOOD BY THE COMPANY AND GAVE THERE MONEY THIS IS THE THANKS THEY GET I’M VERY SAD FOR THEM BUT WISH THEM THE BEST GOOD LUCK …………….
Greg
The author of this article should be ashamed of themselves. Sure, Bill Zollars is worthless and all YRCW management exists to pat themselves on the back for any OR under 110. They couldn’t make money if they owned the US Mint. But, quoting the uninformed speculation of some schmuck from an anonymous message board is just about the lowest form of journalism in existence.
It’s the kind of thing people do when they don’t know anything. Hope you made your deadline and made your “click” quota for the week.
LuAnn Taylor
It’s all about the big boys put money in the pockets do you realize that working man doesn’t hemetin prize ever won to unionize and stay together Like we did in the seventies and eighties I’m talking about all Freight companies even the non Union sticking together as one
James Mackey
Pieces of crap running New Penn into the ground,YRC never made money and never will!!!!!!!.New Penn making 25 cent on a dollar to maybe 2 cents to dollar since YRC took over retards running this company since Zollars Welch took over ,they will be bankrupt soon because they never New how to make money!!!!!!!!
Sonia Rodriguez
??????
ORLANDO DEJESUS
They are Driving us Down with them sons of B…..