The freight fleet trade group American Trucking Associations (ATA) today launched an online database that is designed to find new jobs for some of the 30,000 truckers and logistics professionals who were suddenly out of work on Sunday after the collapse of financially troubled Yellow Corp.
The nation’s third-largest less than truckload (LTL) company shut its doors over the weekend as it struggled to balance millions of dollars in unpaid debts with the challenges of a Teamsters union strike threat and a cyclical freight sector recession. The company is expected to declare bankruptcy within days.
In the meantime, the thousands of drivers and freight workers who used to haul Yellow clients’ freight loads have lost their jobs. Finding new ones might be a challenge, since the episode comes as the nation’s economy downshifts to slower growth rates under the pressure of rising interest rates that are designed to counteract hot inflation. Even worse, the trucking sector in particular continues to underperform the broader economy as it moves through the depths of a cyclical freight recession, with lower volumes and revenues than sunnier times.
Against that backdrop, the Teamsters union has already said it is “putting infrastructure in place to help affected members get the assistance they need to find good union jobs throughout freight and other industries.”
Now ATA is offering a second option as it encourages former Yellow employees to access its database to help find new employment opportunities within the trucking industry. “Yellow’s closure is a substantial blow to America’s economy and the company’s 30,000 hardworking employees and their families in all 50 states,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a release.
The company’s collapse affects a range of workers, from drivers and dock workers to mechanics, salespeople, administrative and support personnel, and other employees, he said. “Our message to former Yellow employees is that we want them to remain a part of the industry that they have done so much to build and strengthen. That is why the ATA is launching a new portal to connect former employees with prospective employers who are eager to utilize their unique and in-demand skills and experience," Spear said. “We hope that this resource will assist displaced employees by connecting them with new opportunities within the industry and help fill the void left by Yellow’s closure.”
