The operational changes necessary to implement One Yellow required approval from IBT
leadership. In August 2022, IBT leadership approved the first phase of One Yellow in the western U.S. and the plan was a success: redundancies were reduced, freight departed terminals earlier and customer service improved. Unfortunately,
despite Phase Ones approval and success, IBT leadership implemented a nine-month blockade, halting the remainder of Yellows business plan. This caused Yellow irreparable harm.
In the spring, while their blockade of One Yellow was ongoing, IBT leaders demanded that Yellow open its contract nearly one year early, and Yellow agreed,
yet its goodwill was met with hostility. Instead of negotiating a contract, Yellow faced months of public insult from IBT, including a social media post depicting a tombstone with Yellows name on it along with the dates 1924-2023. This
ruthless campaign included repeated public taunts calling for Yellows demise and was intended to put Yellow out of business. At the same time, IBT leadership spread false claims that Yellow was trying to exact concessions from its
union employees. Nothing was further from the truth. Combined with months of refusals to negotiate, IBT leaders campaign against Yellow caused grave concern among investors, drove away customers, and put 30,000 jobs at risk.
By summer, Yellows losses from the delay in implementing One Yellow had reached more than $137 million in adjusted EBITDA. On June 26, 2023,
Yellow filed a lawsuit against IBT citing breach of contract and loss of enterprise value. The lawsuit is pending, and the damages have grown since. For more information, please visit https://investors.myyellow.com/news-releases/news-release-details/yellow-corporation-files-137-million-lawsuit-against.
As the IBT continued to stonewall and publicly disparage Yellow, Yellow management kept employees informed that the situation was increasingly dire. Yellow
made it clear to IBT leadership that their blockade of One Yellow severely constrained Yellows cash flow and its ability to refinance debt. Yellow was forced to take measures to preserve liquidity to give IBT leaders more time to finally
engage. Instead, IBT leaders announced a strike against Yellows then-significantly wounded company. Customers fled and business was not recoverable.
While IBT leaders may believe they won a battle against Yellow, its our employees and their families who have lost, said Hawkins. We
tried everything to work with IBT leadership and did all we could to save employees jobs. We are crushed by todays announcement, yet we are grateful to our tens of thousands of employees who took care of our customers until the end. Our
employees are professionals who, despite heavy hearts, worked diligently to clear the docks, deliver remaining freight, and close our terminal doors one last time. It is with this same professionalism that we intend to wind down our business,
maximize recoveries for creditors and pay back the CARES Act loan in full.
Yellow is committed to helping its employees find new work. Yellow has
partnered with the American Trucking Associations ATA to launch its first searchable job database, specifically for Yellow employees. This initiative intends to streamline job placement while giving ATA member companies the ability to
connect with thousands of skilled freight and operations professionals, mechanics, logisticians and more. For information on the initiative, please visit https://www.trucking.org/jobseeker.
For more information about Yellow Corporations Chapter 11 case, please visit https://dm.epiq11.com/YellowCorporation or contact Epiq, the
Companys noticing and claims agent, at (866) 641-1076 (Toll Free), +1 (503) 461-4134 (International) or by e-mail at YellowCorporationInfo@epiqglobal.com.
Legal Counsel
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving
as the Companys restructuring counsel, Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP is serving as the Companys Delaware local counsel, Kasowitz, Benson and Torres LLP is serving as special litigation counsel, Goodmans LLP is serving as the
Companys special Canadian counsel, Ducera Partners LLC is serving as the Companys investment banker, and Alvarez and Marsal is serving as the Companys financial advisor.