FedEx Freight to begin driver furloughs Sunday

FedEx Freight, the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carrier, will begin furloughing an undetermined number of drivers on Sunday, the FedEx Corp. unit confirmed Wednesday.

The voluntary furloughs will run until March 6, with drivers getting a guarantee to return to work, the unit confirmed.

FedEx Freight is offering drivers a $300 weekly incentive to accept a furlough. The total payments will be made when the drivers return to work, according to the FedEx (NYSE: FDX) unit.

The number of furloughs to be allowed per service center will be disclosed internally through the week. FedEx Freight said it will not publicly release any details about the furlough totals or the centers where they will be requested. The unit has said previously that not all service centers would be asked to furlough drivers.

FedEx Freight said earlier this month that it would move to voluntary furloughs in seeking to align its driver workforce with less demand for LTL services due to a slowing economy. It said at the time that the furloughs would last for 90 days and drivers agreeing to them would be called back to work. The furloughs will affect a relatively small number of drivers

Impacted workers will continue to receive health benefits and be allowed to file for unemployment benefits in their respective states of residence, the unit said. Some eligible employees will be offered permanent transfer opportunities to other markets that have hiring needs.

Other LTL carriers are considering similar measures as they rightsize their workforces to offset volume declines.

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Editor: Mark Solomon