Recently, a major trucking company, Yellow Corp, announced their bankruptcy, abruptly laying off all of their employees, effective immediately. Thousands of people were left behind in the corporate dust storm, being left entirely jobless. Taking advantage of the many people left needing work, an Indianapolis-based trucking company started contacting some former Yellow Corp drivers.
Yellow Corp abandoned approximately 30,000 drivers in their company-wide layoff.
Avery Darby, owner of ZNR Dispatching and Logistics, is working to have her company help as many drivers as they can that were affected by the layoffs. Her father was a truck driver so she knows the struggles that can await families without active trucking. Her company, while based in Indianapolis, operates in all 50 states, so they can hire drivers anywhere in the country.
Darby saw the announcement from Yellow on her local news station and immediately kicked into action to open up her company to absorb as many Yellow Corp employees as she could. In a statement to a local Indianapolis station, she spoke motivational words to the people affected. She explained how her company and many others are out there waiting to hire these drivers and get them back to work, saying “It feels bad, but it is not over.”
One employee from Yellow Corp, Glen Brannon, who had been with the company for 20 years, said that they had seen the bankruptcy and layoff coming, but that it did not make it any less shocking when it did actually come. He and other employees saw the writing on the walls when the union and Yellow Corp continuously went back and forth on making a deal.
He is waiting for his call from another trucking company to get back to work.
He talked about how hard it has been to not be driving and working. He explained that going from someone who regularly works a 70 hour plus work week to someone who is not working has been a hard and weird adjustment. He is eager to get back on the road.
Darby’s company offers pay varying based on the type of truck that you drive. You could make anywhere from $3,000-$8,000. They offer truck leasing programs in which they will assist with covering gas and tire responsibilities. They will then give a new truck after a driver has reached 600,000 miles.