(HorizonPost.com) – A Texas freight and logistics company abruptly laid off its more than 2,000 employees, including office personnel, truck drivers, dock workers, and warehouse workers on Thursday, June 20, and closed down.
US Logistics Solutions (USLS), based in Humble, Texas, informed all of its employees via text messages and conference calls that the company was ceasing operations effective immediately and none of them would be receiving paychecks the following day.
Former USLS president Eric Culberson said the owner of the company, Charlotte, North Carolina private equity firm Ten Oaks Group, closed down operations and stopped bankrolling USLS, leaving it with no money to pay its employees.
The company revealed on June 21 that it had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and would begin liquidating immediately.
USLS said in a statement that the decision to file for bankruptcy had not been taken lightly. The company’s “leadership team explored all possible alternatives,” the statement said, including seeking other investors and “strategic partners.” But with the “abrupt cessation of funding” from Ten Oaks Group, USLS had no choice, the company said.
Culberson said in a LinkedIn post that he was “devastated” and “heartbroken” for the more than 2,000 employees of the company. He expressed his regret that the company’s abrupt closure at a time when the business was “surging” prevented him from having the opportunity to thank the employees for their commitment to the company and its customers.
The sudden closure of USLS could cause trouble for the company as it failed to follow federal law by filing a WARN Notice.
Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), companies that employ over 100 people must give them a 60-day advance notice of massive layoffs.
Some USLS employees told FreightWaves that they learned of the closure from the payroll company. The employees said Ten Oaks Group had been seeking further financing from lenders who forced the equity firm to close USLS.
Several freight and logistics companies have had to shut down facilities and lay off workers in the past month, including companies in Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
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