September 3, 2002 8:04 AM, EDT

Consolidated Freightways to Shut Down, Cut 15,500 Jobs

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Less-than-truckload carrier Consolidated Freightways Corp. said Monday it was discontinuing operations, cutting about 15,500 jobs and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

More than 80% of the eliminated positions are effective immediately, the company said in a release. Hundreds of employees had shown up for work at Consolidated Freightways offices Monday, only to find the offices locked, the Associated Press reported.

"We expected that recent discussions with our banks, other lenders and real estate investors would enable us to obtain significant additional financial resources," the company said. "Unfortunately, this has not been the case."

The 73-year-old Vancouver, Wash.-based company also said operations of CF Air Freight and Canadian Freightways subsidiaries will continue normally.

The company's stock had tumbled since it requested an extension in filing its second-quarter earnings two weeks ago and announced that it might be de-listed from the Nasdaq stock market, AP said.

CF, ranked No. 12 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 list, has 350 terminals and 30,000 trucks in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Larger rivals Yellow Corp. and Roadway Express could benefit from CF's problems, the New York Times reported.

In the first quarter this year, Consolidated Freightways lost $36.5 million on $463 million in revenue. The company lost $104.3 million last year, and $7.6 million in 2000.

(Click here for the full press release.)