Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Company moves operations to Charlotte

YRC Worldwide Inc., the parent company for Yellow Transportation and Roadway Express Inc., will move its consolidation and distribution functions from Kernersville to Charlotte, a company official said Tuesday.

As the company completes this change, it will just have a local pickup and delivery operation in Kernersville, said Michael Smid, the president and chief executive of YRC North American.

"We just do not need two of those types of operations in the North Carolina area," Smid said.

About 210 employees in Kernersville will be affected by the changes. They are drivers, dock workers and employees who supply support functions. It may also include office workers and some mechanics.

The company should complete the merger of networks by March 1, Smid said. The affected employees have been told about the company's decision.

It has a distribution center under the Roadway brand on N.C. 66 South in Kernersville. The company has a distribution center under the Yellow brand at 1200 Amble Drive in Charlotte.

"The majority of these employees will have the opportunity to either move with the work or pursue the work in Charlotte or potentially other facilities in the region," Smid said. "So it's not a complete reduction or elimination of jobs. It's a repositioning and relocation of work."

Mayor Dawn Morgan of Kernersville said that she was saddened by the company's decision.

"This is not good news for Kernersville," Morgan said. "Over the years, Roadway employees have been key volunteers here."

The employees are members of the Teamsters Local Union 391 in Winston-Salem, and permitted to follow the work.

"If they choose not too, they will go into a lay-off status," Smid said.
The union learned about the company's plan Monday, said Bob Brown, an union business agent.

"We will not have any comments on it until we meet with the company," Brown said.

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