Illinois carrier lays off drivers, shutters Wisconsin terminal on short notice (with video)

Almost 70 employees, including 61 truck drivers, got just three days’ notice that Black Horse Carriers Inc. was permanently shuttering its terminal in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday.

The closure is in response to a customer’s decision to “discontinue business” with the carrier at its Pewaukee location, Nancy Brooks, director of human resources for the company, stated in its notice to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development on Friday.

According to Wisconsin’s Business Closing and Mass Layoff Law (WBCML), in some cases employers with more than 50 employees must provide written notice 60 calendar days in advance of a business closing or mass layoff or reduction in hours. 

However, Black Horse Carriers may have been exempted under a portion of the law about exceptions, including “unforeseeable business circumstances.”

Headquartered in Carol Stream, Illinois, Black Horse Carriers is one of the nation’s largest dedicated fleet providers, with around 3,140 company drivers and 2,490 power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.

The company, which operates more than 80 terminals throughout the U.S., hauls foods including bakery and dairy products and other perishables, retail and consumer goods, and automotive and industrial freight, according to its website.

Brooks didn’t disclose which customer canceled its contract with Black Horse, leading to the abrupt closing of one of the carrier’s five Wisconsin terminals.

She states in the notice that the privately held carrier “will ensure that employees will be paid all earned wages and agreed upon benefits at the time of their termination.”

This is a developing story.

Read more articles by FreightWaves’ Clarissa Hawes