YRC Worldwide seeks union approval for unit restructuring
Kansas City Business Journal by David Twiddy, Reporter Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 11:02am CST
YRC Inc. is getting out of the next-day delivery business as it continues to shift its focus to being a pure-play long-haul carrier.
The company, the national less-than-truckload division of Overland Park-based YRC Worldwide Inc. YRC Worldwide Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Trucking gets a big boost in December, American Trucking Associations saysU.S. trucking industry posts biggest jump in 13 yearsYRC Worldwide names Russell as permanent general counsel Follow this company (Nasdaq: YRCW), mailed a series of proposed work changes to dozens of International Brotherhood of Teamsters union locals last week. They have to approve the changes, which are likely to mean job cuts.
The changes show YRC plans to take a number of distribution centers and terminals that have been part of the company’s so-called “Velocity” next-day network and make them part of the long-haul network.
Jeff Rogers, YRC Inc.’s president, said in an interview that the company’s leadership thinks the company’s regional carriers — New Holland, Roadway and Holland — are better suited to the job.
“I’m a firm believer in finding out what you can be really good at and that’s what you do, and we can be a really good long-haul carrier,” Rogers said. “I don’t think the next-day market is where we should play.”
He said the restructuring, which he hopes to implement by April, will streamline the process of moving freight, reducing the number of times it’s moved or handled. That would speed up delivery times and reduce damage or losses.
None of the terminals are closing, but many are being scaled down, which means job cuts, Rogers said.
“That will be determined when we sit down with the individual unions and go through where the freight’ ...
YRC Inc. is getting out of the next-day delivery business as it continues to shift its focus to being a pure-play long-haul carrier.
The company, the national less-than-truckload division of Overland Park-based YRC Worldwide Inc. YRC Worldwide Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Trucking gets a big boost in December, American Trucking Associations saysU.S. trucking industry posts biggest jump in 13 yearsYRC Worldwide names Russell as permanent general counsel Follow this company (Nasdaq: YRCW), mailed a series of proposed work changes to dozens of International Brotherhood of Teamsters union locals last week. They have to approve the changes, which are likely to mean job cuts.
The changes show YRC plans to take a number of distribution centers and terminals that have been part of the company’s so-called “Velocity” next-day network and make them part of the long-haul network.
Jeff Rogers, YRC Inc.’s president, said in an interview that the company’s leadership thinks the company’s regional carriers — New Holland, Roadway and Holland — are better suited to the job.
“I’m a firm believer in finding out what you can be really good at and that’s what you do, and we can be a really good long-haul carrier,” Rogers said. “I don’t think the next-day market is where we should play.”
He said the restructuring, which he hopes to implement by April, will streamline the process of moving freight, reducing the number of times it’s moved or handled. That would speed up delivery times and reduce damage or losses.
None of the terminals are closing, but many are being scaled down, which means job cuts, Rogers said.
“That will be determined when we sit down with the individual unions and go through where the freight’s moving, and then does the job move or not,” he said. “At this point, it’s going to be impacting a lot of folks, but I can’t tell you what the net reduction potentially will be.”
Parent company YRC Worldwide is rebuilding its financial health after the recession shook the company, pushing it close to bankruptcy. Dramatic financial moves — including deals with investors, large stock issuances and concessions by union workers — kept the company rolling.
Early this month, YRC sold the former Roadway Corp. headquarters in Akron, Ohio, affecting 260 jobs. Rogers said at the time that some of the jobs were to be eliminated, others moved elsewhere in Ohio and others moved outside the state, including to Overland Park.
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