ATLANTA — One of the nation's largest trucking companies is closing after nearly 100 years in business.
The Teamsters Union confirmed they were served a legal notice on Monday that Yellow Corp. is ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself, despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government. This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said.
The company received a $700 million COVID bailout loan. It's yet to repay that debt to the federal government. Last month, a congressional report was released which called the loan a mistake and should have never been given to Yellow Corp.
The closure means 33,000 Yellow Corp. employees are now unemployed.
11Alive spoke to a union member on Monday, who didn't want to be identified, but confirmed he received a call from management on Sunday. They notified him that he would not need to report for work and that the company is closing.
"It hurts to get a phone call the day before this huge company all of a sudden just closes," he said. "It’s like a slap in the face you know after you put in years of service and then all of sudden."
The employee said it's his understanding their benefits will end after the first week of August.
"Thirty-three thousand families are going to be affected," he explained.
The now-former employee said this will also have an impact on the shipping prices in the U.S. and the supply chain. He said companies will be charging more than Yellow did, which means the consumer will likely feel the hit to make up the difference.
"This is really huge," he said.