Dive Brief:
- Yellow Corp. reduced its workforce YoY as the carrier adjusted to a “notable drop in demand” in Q4, CEO Darren Hawkins said on an earnings call last month.
- The cuts came as the carrier’s tonnage cratered by 25% YoY last quarter. The moves were separate from the carrier’s One Yellow network transformation, in which Yellow is proposing to sell 28 terminals and relocate employees.
- The company declined to say whether any additional layoffs are ongoing this quarter. “We remain focused on aligning the size of our workforce with the volume in our network to continue meeting the needs of our customers,” Yellow spokesperson Heather Nauert told Transport Dive in an emailed statement.
After hiring spree, Yellow’s workforce returns to Q4 2020 levels
Dive Insight:
Salaries, wages and employee benefits for Yellow’s union and non-union employees account for more than half of the carrier’s operating costs.
In an already challenging operating environment, cost savings became an even more pressing priority as Yellow’s reported the falling tonnage in Q4.
“In the shipping business, staffing ebbs and flows with freight volume, and the LTL sector is no different,” Nauert noted in her statement.
Yellow’s LTL competitors have executed similar strategies to reduce their workforce spend last quarter.
XPO offered furloughs to drivers and dockworkers over the holidays, and Old Dominion Freight Line used attrition and headcount adjustments to reduce more than $5 million in employee-related expenses. FedEx Freight has begun another furlough period, ending in May, which the company announced last month.
