The Yellow trucking company will cease operations and file for bankruptcy, the Teamsters union reported Monday. After years of financial difficulties and with a growing debt burden, the company is expected to file its official bankruptcy declaration in the next few hours.
Its foreseeable liquidation could mark a significant change for the transport sector in the United States, and leave hundreds or thousands of workers without jobs who were already being hit by the drop in rates after the end of the pandemic.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically shown that it could not be managed despite billions of dollars in concessions to workers and hundreds of millions in bailout funds from the federal government. It is a sad day for workers and the freight industry,” said Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien.
The bankruptcy would come just three years after Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide, Inc., received $700 million in federal loans.
But he was already suffering from financial problems long before; analysts consulted by the news agency The Associated Press attribute it to poor management and strategic decisions that go back decades.