I drove by Central Freight on my way to Home Depot and they had the gates blocked off with cars and security present.

All of their employees were standing in the back end of the Home Depot parking lot.

I heard on the local news that apparently the employees were being laid off/terminated and found out when they "arrived" to work.

If so, what a crappy way to treat someone. Ambush them 2 weeks before Christmas?

Sad what some will do...The least they could have done is give a little advance warning even if they couldn't continue the business.

Hopefully it was something else and the story wasn't accurate.

The gates were open this morning and I saw some cars in their parking lot.

Central Freight Lines closing after nearly 100 years

Forty years ago when I was a wholesale grocery buyer we did a lot of business with them. Sad to see and sad for Waco.

Camo08 said:

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Central Freight Lines closing after nearly 100 years

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That's just a sorry way to do that.

I understand why a business might have to close, but I don't understand them not giving their employees some forewarning, especially at this time of year.

Nguyen One Soon said:

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Woody Callan just spun the in his grave.

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You ain't kiddin..Lots of other great folks did, too.

Central should be covered br the WARN Act, which requires 60 days notice for employers the size of Central laying off or closing.

Likely several reasons why they may not be covered by WARN including the faltering company provision that permits companies who are actively seeking additional investment or capital not to have to announce in advance thus screwing up their recapitalization deal, and emergency or catastrophe situations like Covid, the inability to hire truck drivers and the supply chain crisis (not enough goods moving).

That said it sucks that they did this just before Christmas. But really, is there a good time to do this?

CorsicanaBear said:

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Likely several reasons why they may not be covered by WARN including the faltering company provision that permits companies who are actively seeking additional investment or capital not to have to announce in advance thus screwing up their recapitalization deal, and emergency or catastrophe situations like Covid, the inability to hire truck drivers and the supply chain crisis (not enough goods moving).

That said it sucks that they did this just before Christmas. But really, is there a good time to do this?

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There's a better time than 2 weeks before Christmas with no warning.

This wasn't decided on 13 Dec.

Sorry move by those that could have done different.

I saw where Killeen ISD and Waco isd have made pushes to hire many of the employees. Trying to entice them to come drive for them. They have their CDL so they would only need to get the school bus endorsement. I'm sure it isn't what the drivers want to do but at least it is something.

Central Freight got in bed with Amazon. They spent millions upgrading their fleet and facilities to accommodate Amazon and then Amazon pulled the plug.

Over the last few years, they began losing volume and drivers began leaving and it was a spiral - they had to overpay drivers to carry the volume they did have but still couldn't keep up despite decreased sales.

Overall, just a bad situation of working capital, overreliance on a single client, etc.

I am sure there are internal reasons that this was done when it was done but it sure is ****ty timing.

4th and Inches said:

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cowboycwr said:

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I saw where Killeen ISD and Waco isd have made pushes to hire many of the employees. Trying to entice them to come drive for them. They have their CDL so they would only need to get the school bus endorsement. I'm sure it isn't what the drivers want to do but at least it is something.

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we need freight drivers all over the US.

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I agree. I thought that was a good move by the 2 districts though. Offer them a job so they don't have to move.

Losing your job and then having to move to get a new one in a different city or different state is definitely not an ideal situation and may not even be an option for some of them with kids and a spouse who has a job here.

4th and Inches said:

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cowboycwr said:

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I saw where Killeen ISD and Waco isd have made pushes to hire many of the employees. Trying to entice them to come drive for them. They have their CDL so they would only need to get the school bus endorsement. I'm sure it isn't what the drivers want to do but at least it is something.

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we need freight drivers all over the US.

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True. The drivers will be able to find jobs almost immediately. It may not be exactly what they want, but the motivated will find income to fill the gap until they land somewhere or in a situation they prefer.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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Central Freight got in bed with Amazon. They spent millions upgrading their fleet and facilities to accommodate Amazon and then Amazon pulled the plug.

Over the last few years, they began losing volume and drivers began leaving and it was a spiral - they had to overpay drivers to carry the volume they did have but still couldn't keep up despite decreased sales.

Overall, just a bad situation of working capital, overreliance on a single client, etc.

I am sure there are internal reasons that this was done when it was done but it sure is ****ty timing.

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Thanks for sharing this. I wasn't aware of their effort to try to rebuild with Amazon.

Over the past few years, I wanted to use them because they are a local business. I've met with their reps for their LTL business. Unfortunately, their rates were significantly higher than other LTL carriers. I was rarely, if ever, able to use them.

When things don't improve over an extended period, debts of all varieties tend to pile up.

In November, the Feds filed a $36 million tax lien against Central, which I suspect relates to their payroll tax obligations.

Also, IIRC, recently the Central property was sold to a 3rd party, with Central agreeing to lease it back from them. I don't know the term of that lease, or whether the rate was 'reasonable', but when it appears you won't be able to pay to keep your facility, the fat lady has sung.

Eleven-League Grant said:

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When things don't improve over an extended period, debts of all varieties tend to pile up.

In November, the Feds filed a $36 million tax lien against Central, which I suspect relates to their payroll tax obligations.

Also, IIRC, recently the Central property was sold to a 3rd party, with Central agreeing to lease it back from them. I don't know the term of that lease, or whether the rate was 'reasonable', but when it appears you won't be able to pay to keep your facility, the fat lady has sung.

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That makes some sense.

The tax lien judgement in November would explain the poor timing.

Another company in the mortgage business did something similar. Fired 900 employees via a Zoom call. The employees invited to the required online meeting earlier this month were fired.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/05/business/better-ceo-fires-employees/index.html

My uncle drove for Central for many years. started right out of high school in 74, I think, up in Fort Worth. Left after 20 something years. Still in shipping for FedEx. Glad he was long gone before this went down

redfish961 said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Likely several reasons why they may not be covered by WARN including the faltering company provision that permits companies who are actively seeking additional investment or capital not to have to announce in advance thus screwing up their recapitalization deal, and emergency or catastrophe situations like Covid, the inability to hire truck drivers and the supply chain crisis (not enough goods moving).

That said it sucks that they did this just before Christmas. But really, is there a good time to do this?

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There's a better time than 2 weeks before Christmas with no warning.

This wasn't decided on 13 Dec.

Sorry move by those that could have done different.

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The entire company was warned in Sept of '20 that they were on a hiring and compensation freeze, to expect layoffs, and that the shuttering of the doors would likely have to happen in the next 12 months if something didn't happen re:capital investment. They've basically had 15 months to prepare for it.

Not saying it makes it right, or that it's convenient, but the writing has been on the wall for years and it has been on paper for well over a year.

trey3216 said:

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redfish961 said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Likely several reasons why they may not be covered by WARN including the faltering company provision that permits companies who are actively seeking additional investment or capital not to have to announce in advance thus screwing up their recapitalization deal, and emergency or catastrophe situations like Covid, the inability to hire truck drivers and the supply chain crisis (not enough goods moving).

That said it sucks that they did this just before Christmas. But really, is there a good time to do this?

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There's a better time than 2 weeks before Christmas with no warning.

This wasn't decided on 13 Dec.

Sorry move by those that could have done different.

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The entire company was warned in Sept of '20 that they were on a hiring and compensation freeze, to expect layoffs, and that the shuttering of the doors would likely have to happen in the next 12 months if something didn't happen re:capital investment. They've basically had 15 months to prepare for it.

Not saying it makes it right, or that it's convenient, but the writing has been on the wall for years and it has been on paper for well over a year.

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That provides a very important context and makes a big difference.

Sounds like my biggest beef was already addressed.

My first job out of law school was at the firm that handled Mr. Callan's private work, mostly real estate. He had a single daughter a little older than me that I never met but I sure found her portfolio attractive.

Always hard to see a local institution go down.