According to Teamsters Union officials, about 75% of the 1,250 drivers affected by the shutdown of one of the nation’s largest car-hauling companies were hired by competitors. Performance Transportation Services of Allen Park, Michigan, hauled vehicles for companies like Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.
The firm’s CEO told employees that it was immediately ceasing operation, nearly five days after the union had gone on strike and almost two weeks after the company had won a bankruptcy court’s approval to cut wages by 15% for two months. The decision to close followed the union’s rejection of a last-minute contract offer. The company’s finances were reportedly weakened by the United States auto industry’s pronounced downturn, which led to slowed deliveries and a sharp increase in diesel fuel costs.
The union replied by saying that the firm faced severe credit problems that would have forced it to close even with new loans and steep worker concessions. Union officials met with companies in Detroit that signed to the national car hauler contract so that its members could follow their work to the companies that picked up the closed firm’s business.
