Illinois carrier lays off most of its company drivers

An Illinois trucking company recently notified most of its company drivers that it could “no longer support part of its fleet operations” and terminated their positions “due to current market conditions.”

Former company drivers for Merx Global Inc. of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, said they were routed to the company’s yard after delivering their loads in the Chicago area and were handed termination letters on Oct. 11.

“Merx Global is selling outdated equipment from its fleet and will not be replacing with new equipment at this time due to current market conditions,” according to a termination letter handed to the affected drivers and obtained by FreightWaves. “Based on these current conditions we can no longer support part of the fleet operations.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website shows Merx Global has 246 drivers and 244 power units. However, some former drivers said the number of drivers listed on the carrier’s MCS-150 form, which was updated in February, counts both company drivers and owner-operators in the number provided on the FMCSA form, so the exact number of company drivers recently laid off is unclear.

A source said Merx Global, which hauls general freight and hazardous materials, kept on about 20 company drivers, who live in Illinois and Indiana, to run regional routes for the carrier.

FreightWaves has reached out to Christian Peneff, president of Merx Global, for comment.

One former company driver, who hauled hazmat tankers for Merx Global, said she was unaware that she and most of Merx’s company drivers were being terminated when she pulled into the company’s yard.

“They found us loads to the Chicago area and then quietly routed us to the terminal and we were told to go by the yard,” the ex-driver, who didn’t want to be named for fear of retaliation, told FreightWaves. “When I got there, I saw a bunch of trucks parked and people with pallets beside their trucks, throwing tons of stuff away. I’ve gotten my final paycheck, which included my PTO, which was nice.”

The termination letter stated that Merx would assist with arranging travel for the company drivers who were let go to help get them home and offered to “subsidize part or all of the travel costs.”

However, none of the owner-operators leased on with Merx Global were let go, a source familiar with the situation told FreightWaves.

Earlier this year, Merx reduced what company drivers were paid from 70 cents per mile to 60 cents with the promise that it would be bumped up to the higher amount once the freight environment improved,

However, that didn’t happen, the source said.
“Some of these company drivers stayed on with Merx for nine or 10 months after their pay was cut only to be terminated,” the source said.

Another former driver was headed to the airport Monday to start orientation with a new trucking company.

“Before they did these layoffs, I really didn’t have anything bad to say about Merx. I made money and they kept me moving while I was there,” the former driver told FreightWaves.

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