Jack Cooper Transport announces mass layoff

CORRECTION: The original version of this story (below) was sourced solely from Jack Cooper’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing. FreightWaves has since learned that the affected employees are not inherently losing their jobs. Jack CooperHead of Public Affairs and Communications Krissa Gosnell said the company was outbid by RCS Transportation “for a retaining business relationship.”

“We fully expect all full-time employees to make the lateral transition over to RCS,” Gosnell said. “To clarify, these employees are prioritized above all others to laterally transition into their same positions within RCS. They have not been dismissed from their jobs.”

Affected full-time workers include 150 yard employees and 14 office and supervision staff. 

Jack Cooper Transport Company has announced its intention to stop yard management operations and lay off 425 employees at its Louisville, Kentucky terminal. The Missouri-based company has 57 terminals across the U.S. and Canada.

Jack Cooper provides automotive and logistics services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), remarkerters, fleets, auctions and dealers. These services include land transportation, rail and yard management and claims management.

“This closure is expected to be permanent and will affect all employees who work in yard management services,” Terminal Manager Brian Knapp said in the company’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing. “Our core business, carhaul/transportation, will continue to operate from the facility.

The WARN Act is a U.S. labor law requiring employers of a certain size to provide 60-days advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs. It is intended to offer some level of protection for workers and their families.

In its filing, Jack Cooper reported all affected employees had been notified. Those workers’ “separation date” is expected to be April 21, exactly 60 days from the company’s February 20 filing.

The layoff will impact 151 employees listed as “yard employee” in the filing, 265 employees listed as “casual” and a handful of supervisors and office staff.

The term “casual employee” typically refers to employees that work on an as-needed basis, without the inherent expectation of ongoing work that part-time and full-time employees have.