70 Charlotte workers laid off as nearly century-old company says it will shut down

A nearly 100-year-old trucking company has abruptly laid off 70 employees in Charlotte just ahead of the holiday season.

Central Freight Lines on Statesville Road informed the state about the layoffs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filing received Thursday by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

The move comes as Central Freight Lines winds down its entire business, according to the company website. It had more than 2,000 employees companywide, KXAN news outlet in Texas reported.

In Charlotte, “the entire plant is to be closed,” the company said in the WARN report.

The Charlotte layoffs began Monday and are expected to occur weekly, including more than half on Friday, until the terminal’s permanent closure by Dec. 31, according to the report.

Central Freight began serving the Charlotte area in April 2017, company president Bruce Kalem told the Observer.

The terminal in Charlotte was leased and the landlord has already made arrangements to lease or sell the property, Kalem said.

‘Unprecedented financial distress’

The majority of jobs at the Charlotte facility were dock workers, as well as drivers, mechanics and office positions. None of the employees are represented by a union, according to the WARN report.

“CFL is shutting down its operations due to unprecedented financial distress, including loss of significant revenue, decreasing margins, increased overhead, several operational inefficiencies, workforce attrition, and various other unexpected and unforeseen circumstances, including CFL’s inability to secure sufficient financing to maintain operations,” the Waco, Texas-based company said in the WARN report.

Central Freight Lines did not provide earlier notice, according to the report, because it would have jeopardized efforts to pursue capital, restructuring and refinancing alternatives to postpone facility closures that were ultimately unsuccessful, the company said.

“The company explored all available options to keep operations going,” Central Freight Lines said in a statement emailed to the Observer. “Despite diligent efforts, the company was unable to gain commitments to fund ongoing operations, find a buyer, or even fund a Chapter 11 reorganization.”

About Central Freight Lines

Central Freight Lines was founded by W.W. “Woody” Callan Sr. in 1925 with a single Model T he used to haul goods from Waco to Dallas for a merchant, according to the company website. By 1938, the company had the largest freight facility in the world in Dallas.

In the early 1990s, Central Freight Lines began its expansion into several other states.

The company went public in December 2003. But three years later, CFL moved from a publicly traded company to privately when it merged with North American Truck Lines and Green Acquisition Co.

By 2009, CFL was providing service in 49 states.

“As of Monday (Dec. 13), we will no longer be picking up freight,” the company said on its website. “We will continue to delivery the freight we have in our system.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 9:58 AM with the headline "70 Charlotte workers laid off as nearly century-old company says it will shut down."