Auto hauler Jack Cooper, severely damaged by the loss of its two key customers, is closing.
In an email sent Monday to Jack Cooper’s employees and obtained by FreightWaves, CEO Sarah Amico, who also is the primary owner of the family-controlled business, said “it is with extraordinary sadness that we are writing to let you know that after 97 years in business, Jack Cooper will be closing our doors in the near future.”
Jack Cooper has always received outsize interest in the trucking community not only because of its size as a major auto hauler but also as one of the larger trucking companies with a work force organized by the Teamsters.
The end has come quickly for Jack Cooper. At the close of 2024, there was no indication that 2025 would be anything other than a normal year. But on the first business day of the year, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) invoked a 30-day out clause to terminate its contract with Jack Cooper.
“It appears that loss has now led our largest customer, General Motors (NYSE: GM), to likewise seek alternative capacity to move its product,” Amico said in the letter.
The letter said that since the announcement of the split with Ford, Jack Cooper had been negotiating with GM “in good faith … to agree on a continued business relationship.” Amico also noted that Jack Cooper has been GM’s “Supplier of the Year” three times in the past 15 years.
But GM had instructed its workers to stop loading new cars onto Jack Cooper trucks last Thursday. That led to news over the weekend that the relationship between the two companies was either terminated or simply kicked to the curb, and that Jack Cooper would no longer be serving GM, or GM had stopped doing business with Jack Cooper. The two sides traded accusations of which side caused the relationship to end.
“Given the loss of our Ford revenue and General Motors’ unilateral decision, Jack Cooper’s management and Board of Directors are faced with no choice but to ask that our employees not return to work, unless contacted by management,” Amico’s letter said. It added that “a few” workers will be asked to remain on the staff to help with the company’s shutdown.
The dispute between Jack Cooper and Ford was considered significant enough that a pair of U.S. senators got involved last week by writing a letter to Ford management. But it does not appear that had any impact in the end.
“For nearly a century, Jack Cooper has set the standard in finished vehicle logistics. We have been proudly Women-Owned, union and family-operated,” Amico said. “We have won numerous industry awards, given back to the communities where we live and work, and proudly employed generations of employees across the country. Each of you has been a key part of that legacy, and your work is deeply appreciated.”
This is an ongoing story.
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