Yellow lays off parts of at least 3 major company teams

Yellow laid off an unknown number of office workers on Friday. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Yellow, the third-largest sub-truckload company in the midst of financial chaos, is laying off an unknown number of office workers, most of whom were non-union workers.

Workers were notified of the layoffs via voice calls on Friday morning. At least three executives have laid off large parts of their teams:

• Yellow Chief Information Officer Annlea Rumfola informed her team of about 300 technology employees that Friday was their last day, an employee said.
• Steve Selvig, vice president of customer service at Yellow, informed an unknown number of customer service representatives that Friday was their last day, according to an employee on the phone and a local news publication.
• Yellow Chief Commercial Officer Jason Bergman invited the following teams to a call on their last day on Friday: Local Sales Divisions 1, 2, and 4; all internal sales; multiple regions of business sales; exhibit operations managers; and yellow third-party logistics sales. This came from two employees on the call. FreightWaves reviewed screenshots of previously sent emails and a recording of the conversation. A yellow representative told FreightWaves after publication that not all invited teams had been fired.

These layoffs come ahead of a potential bankruptcy filing from Yellow. A senior vice president said Yellow is expected to file for bankruptcy on July 31, according to three employees who attended an internal conversation in which the executive shared the news.

Dismissed employees were instructed to receive information about their severance pay, health care, W-2s and other important documents through an Oracle platform as their access to company systems ends on Friday. According to a memo circulated to laid-off employees reviewed by FreightWaves, severance pay for non-union workers depends on title and length of employment with the company:

It is unclear why the yellow external logistics sales team was invited to the layoff interview as the company is actively trying to sell its logistics business. A representative for Yellow said in an emailed statement after the story was published that the Yellow Logistics organization has remained intact, including the Yellow Logistics sales team.

A Yellow representative said in a statement emailed to FreightWaves after the story was published that customers can contact Yellow’s support line at 800-610-6500 or customer.care@myyellow.com.

“Yellow has maintained a robust customer service team that is fully capable of handling inquiries and assisting with any support customers may need,” said the representative.

Yellow, a 99-year-old company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, employs some 30,000 people. About 22,000 of them are represented by the Teamsters union. Teamsters and Yellow have been embroiled in a months-long battle over changing key work rules at the truck fleet. Now sources say Yellow may soon file for bankruptcy.

On a call to Yellow sales teams, Bergman shared a statement about the company’s potential shuttering — and laid the blame on the Teamsters’ refusal to negotiate with the company:

“Since last January we have done everything we can to meet the IBT. The IBT’s refusal to negotiate for nine months, the freezing of our vital business plan, One Yellow and finally the strike permits caused customers to seek alternative freight carriers and had a catastrophic effect on our business. When IBT leaders were finally ready to meet this week, it was too late. By then, the IBT strike threat had already had a devastating impact on our business, (unclear) investors and caused customers to quickly leave. Given this impact on our business, we are compelled to announce additional headcount reductions for non-union employees.”

In a memo released to members Thursday evening, Teamsters blamed Yellow’s management for the company’s financial problems:

“In the meantime, TNFINC and the IBT continue to work with the government to determine if there is a way to protect the Teamster families in Yellow. TNFINC and the IBT remain willing to work with Yellow and its lenders or potential lenders. However, hope is crumbling. Unfortunately, despite more than a decade of concessions totaling billions of dollars given to the company by Teamster members, as well as a massive government bailout loan in 2020, Yellow may finally succumb to its massive debt load.

This story is evolving. Check back here for updates.

Are you a Yellow employee with a story to share? E-mail rpremack@freightwaves.com.