Werner faces social media storm over Kenyan driver rumors

Werner Enterprises is at the center of a growing social media uproar, after online rumors claimed the Nebraska-based trucking giant was possibly planning to hire Kenyan truck drivers — rumors the company firmly denies.

As can be the case with trying to explain what is driving a social media frenzy, understanding the moving parts in the Werner/Kenya story can be head-scratching. But for Werner (NASDAQ: WERN), it is facing numerous social media posts accusing it of hatching a plan to hire truck drivers from Kenya and have them operate in the U.S., presumably at the expense of U.S.-based drivers.

Werner took the unusual step Tuesday of putting out a statement on X, denying that it had signed or even discussed a plan for the “recruitment of Kenyan truck drivers to the United States.”

“Any claims suggesting otherwise are just false,” the statement said.

Tackling controversies is not the usual offering of Werner’s X feed. Recently the company used it to celebrate both National Grandparents’ Day and National Read a Book Day.

Based on the various social media posts about Werner and Kenya, what does appear to have set off the controversy begins with a 2024 meeting Werner held at its headquarters in Omaha with economic development officials from Kenya.

In a story from June 2024 in a news service called the Kenyan Diaspora, it was reported that a Kenyan official, Diaspora Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu, had led a delegation on a business-related visit to Omaha, Nebraska, where Werner is headquartered.

The article contained a picture of Werner representatives at the meeting, with the company’s logo on the wall. The names of the Werner representatives were not mentioned in the article, which did not include any quotes from Werner representatives.

The article did quote Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen who was at the meeting as saying “there are tens of thousands of truck driving jobs that are open at any given time.”

The Kenyan delegation’s trip did get some local news coverage as well. And while the local media reported Evnen’s comments about tight truck driver availability, it did not quote Werner.

Fast forward to the first days of September, and Evnen was in the news again in regards to Kenya.

In an article dated Sept. 4 and published on the website entitled Kenyans, Evnen was reported as having attended the Kenya-Nebraska Agriculture, Trade and Investment Conference, a conference in the capital city of Nairobi.

At that conference, Evnen signed what the website called a “landmark” deal between Nebraska and Kenya, formally titled a “Labour Mobility and Diaspora Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).” The article contains a picture of Evnen signing the deal along with Njogu.

And while Werner is not mentioned in the reporting of Evnen’s remarks, the trucking industry is discussed.

According to the article in Kenyans, Evnen said Nebraska carriers have begun to hire Kenyan drivers. The article also quotes Evnen as saying “We have commercial truck drivers already who are being trained, partially in Kenya, and then they complete their training in Nebraska.”

Without quoting anyone directly, the article then says “this initiative is in direct response to the pressing shortage of commercial drivers in the United States, particularly those operating tractor-trailer combinations.”

Evnen also is the official referred to in the story’s headline: “American Official Hails Kenyan Talent, Opens Path for Kenyans to Get Jobs in the U.S.”

On a website called Kenya Insights, an article by Annabel Makhwaya was more explicit on the impact of the MoU.

“The deal…explicity targets licensed commercial drivers amid a significant shortage of truck drivers across America,” the article said. “Evnen confirmed the high demand for skilled drivers in his state and emphasized that the agreement provides an organized, legal pathway for Kenyans seeking employment opportunities in the US.

This was not Evnen’s first trip to Kenya. He led a trade mission to the country in February 2024, before the delegation’s trip to Nebraska that included meeting Werner.

A prepared statement the Secretary of State’s office put out after the trade mission said the Kenya trip was Evnen’s sixth such trade mission trip to a foreign country since he took office in 2019. It was also his second trip to Kenya.

A list of companies that attended that trade mission notably did not include Werner, but it did include Grand Island Express, a refrigerated carrier based in Nebraska.

Phone calls to the media relations contact at Evnen’s office had not been responded to by publication time.

None of the reporting in Kenyan media about last week’s Nairobi conference, or the MOU or Evnen’s presence in the country, mentioned Werner.

But it isn’t a long road for some social media warriors to apparently perform this logic: Werner met with a Kenyan delegation last year; Nebraska officials just signed a cooperation deal with Kenya over labor training and opportunities, in which a leading Cornhusker State official talked about training Kenyan truck drivers; Werner is in Nebraska. Ergo, Werner is looking to hire Kenyan truck drivers that would presumably take jobs away from Americans.

Beyond the posting on X, a spokeswoman for Werner released the following statement to FreightWaves.

“In May 2024, at the request of the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, Werner hosted a group of dignitaries from Kenya as part of a standard trade mission visit,” she said. “The conversation at Werner covered a variety of topics; however, there were no commitments made or discussions regarding a program or Werner sponsoring visas. The group visited multiple companies across various industries in Nebraska and held discussions, but there were no takeaways, follow-up discussions or meetings involving Werner since that time. Whatever agreement the Secretary of State may have made during his recent visit does not include Werner Enterprises.”

The social media critiques of the cooperation between Kenya and Nebraska over the issue of truck drivers is non-specific, as the details of the MoU are not widely disclosed. Many of the critics don’t seem to know about the MoU.

But they otherwise fall into two categories.

One is general criticism of any sort of arrangement that might bring Kenyans to the U.S. to work as truck drivers.

The second are very specific critiques directed at Werner, apparently based on the assumption that if it’s about trucking in Nebraska, the giant truckload carrier based in Omaha must be part of it.

This posting on X is an example. It reaches back to the 2024 meeting and the Kenyan news media reports about the meeting at Werner and puts it with a post about the recent MoU signing. “The Secretary of State of Nebraska is working with one of the largest trucking companies in America, Werner Enterprises, to replace American truckers with migrants from Kenya,” the posting says.

The issue Wednesday was considered significant enough at Werner that its CEO Derek Leathers checked in on his own X feed.

Responding to a poster who had critiqued the reported “deal,” Leathers said “We did not, do not and will not work to bring drivers in from foreign countries on Visas or otherwise.”

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