Automotive Component Carrier (ACC), a haulier company owned by Penske Logistics, is laying off 71 truck drivers after the company missed out on a contract with General Motors.
ACC had previously given notice that it planned redundancies across its 300-strong workforce as part of its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing with the Michigan Department of Labor.
A spokesperson for Penske Logistics explained that the redundancies were because of a failed bid for a renewed contract serving GM’s Lansing and Flint, Michigan, and Fort Wayne, Indiana assembly plants.
“We were not the lowest bidder. These are unionised drivers and as such these jobs are tied to a specific contract,” the Penske spokesperson told Automotive Logistics. The bid was for an existing piece of business that ACC and its drivers served for 20 years. GM has awarded the bid to other trucking carriers in the region.
The loss of bid does not represent the entirety of the business that ACC or Penske Logistics provides to GM, and ACC continues to provide GM with trucking services, the spokesperson said.
The last day of employment for the 71 workers will be January 2nd. ACC will still employ 220 truck drivers, and no other ACC jobs are affected by the contract loss.
