2500 layoffs expected as car hauler Jack Cooper to wind down operations, per report

One of the nation’s leading car haulers is expected to wind down operations and lay off thousands of workers following unsuccessful contract negotiations over the weekend.

Jack Cooper Transport will lay off approximately 2500 workers as it winds down operations permanently, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.

The layoffs come after long-time customer General Motors opted to cancel its partnership with Jack Cooper just weeks after the company also lost its contract with Ford Motor Company.

Of Jack Cooper’s 2500 workers, about 700 supported the Ford operations and over 1000 supported the GM operations.

GM and Jack Cooper were involved in “intense” contract negotiations late into Friday night, but when these stalled, GM reportedly started using other trucking companies to haul auto shipments on Saturday morning.

GM issued a “stop-shipment” order on Thursday amid the contract negotiations due to the risk of leaving millions of dollars worth of vehicles in limbo if the negotiations failed.

In just a few weeks, the 100 year old auto hauler lost its largest and second-largest customers, both of whom had been partners for decades.

On February 8, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Central Region Vice President and Carhaul Division Director Avral Thompson issued the following statement on the “ongoing crisis at Jack Cooper Transport and its impact on Teamsters in the Carhaul Division”:

“Jack Cooper friends and members, we have had a terrible couple of weeks, first with Ford Motor Company and now with General Motors. I wanted to let you know that the IBT and the carhaul division are working on this problem, this is as bad as it gets but we will get through it.“

Precision Vehicle Logistics will take over for Jack Cooper at some Ford facilities, KMBC reports.

According to Teamsters Local Union 745, the union has “successfully reached an agreement with Precision Vehicle Solutions to ensure a smooth transition for yard operations.” Teamsters say that “at least 30 Jack Cooper drivers (potentially more, depending on the Standing Seniority Committee hearing) will be transferred to Precision to run the long shuttle work to Midlothian in their own classification.”

Jack Cooper was founded in 1928 as a hauler for General Motors in Kansas City. Since then, it grew to become one of the largest fleets of finished vehicle carriers in North America.

This is a developing story.