Trucking firm Yellow Corp. files for bankruptcy, ceases all operations

After years of financial struggles, one of the largest freight carriers in the United States has reached the end of the road. Nashville, Tennessee-based Yellow Corp. has ceased all operations and filed for bankruptcy, putting some 30,000 workers out of a job.

The collapse comes less than three years after Yellow accepted a $700 million pandemic-era bailout from the U.S. government in exchange for a 30% stake in the company. That loan allowed the company to stay afloat throughout its restructuring plan, but the company says economic headwinds and a contract dispute with its workers union put the company in a dicey financial position.

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The International brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents some 22,000 unionized Yellow workers, called the bankruptcy "unfortunate but not surprising."

"Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government," Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien said in a statement. "This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry."

Formerly known as YRC Worldwide, Inc., Yellow is one of the nation's largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company currently holds more than $1.5 billion in outstanding debt and and its stock is now trading at less than $1 per share.

In May, the company reported a $54.6 million loss in the first quarter of 2023.