ANDERSON — Local trucking companies are offering assistance and jobs to former Celadon employees who have found themselves stranded and without work this week.
Celadon, one of the largest trucking companies in the country, announced Monday morning that they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing up shop. The company employs more than 3,000 truck drivers and at least 1,000 people in other positions.
Several local trucking companies have stepped up to start immediate recruitment of the former Celadon employees, including Carter Logistics out of Anderson.
READ | Celadon files bankruptcy, lays off thousands of drivers
Jessica Warnke with Carter Logistics said they are hoping to recruit a large number of former Celadon employees, but their main goal at the moment is to help them get back home.
Warnke said their drivers have been told that if they come across a stranded Celadon driver, they are to offer them a ride home. She also said any Celadon drivers who find themselves stranded without a way back can call their recruitment office at 1-877-628-6806 and they will purchase them a bus ticket home.
"Our recruitment office has been authorized to purchase those tickets," Warnke said. "We actually have a driver who just informed us he was taking a stranded driver back to Lexington, Kentucky."
Carter Logistics is also hoping to recruit some of the former Celadon employees. They're offering bonuses for all positions including drivers and technicians. As part of those recruitment efforts, Carter Logistics is offering a two-week sign-on bonus to any Celadon driver they hire. For drivers and technicians that bonus is $1,500. For other positions the bonus will vary based on the position you are hired into.
They are also offering a $200 working day minimum guarantee for drivers who hire on before the holiday.
Celadon has called themselves the largest provider of international truckload services in North America. The company has faced scrutiny this year after they agreed to pay $42.2 million to settle securities fraud allegations from falsely reporting profits and assets and just last week two former officials with the company were charged in a fraud scheme.
Other companies who are offerings help and assistance to Celadon employees include:
Hoosier Air Transport
Recruitment Line: 1-800-886-2683 ext. 100
Website: www.hoosierair.com
TransForce
Recruitment Line: (317) 352-0306
Website: www.transforce.com
Mayor Joe Hogsett released the following statement in response to the news that Celadon has filed for bankruptcy and is shutting down operations:
“Today’s decision by Celadon is the result of the worst kind of corporate recklessness, with the actions of a few highly-paid executives creating tragedy for workers across Central Indiana.
While I am concerned about the future of the Celadon campus on the far eastside and the economic impact of its closure, my top priority is the well-being of Indianapolis families affected by this announcement.
I have directed my office and Employ Indy to immediately begin working with the Indy Chamber, as well as community partners like Ascend Indiana, to identify impacted workers and connect them with short-term resources, as well as training and tools that will provide a pathway to new career opportunities.”
Mayor Hogsett and Employ Indy, Marion County’s workforce development agency, provided the following next steps for affected workers:
• Individuals separated from Celadon are encouraged to immediately file for unemployment insurance benefits with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development at: https://www.in.gov/dwd/2334.htm [in.gov]
• All employees are encouraged to proactively visit Central Indiana WorkOne locations for career services assistance and indicate they are from Celadon. WorkOne locations in Central Indiana are accessible at: https://www.in.gov/dwd/WorkOne/locations.html [in.gov]
Additionally, the below resources are immediately available to all Celadon employees:
1. For early-in-career professional staff, connectivity to Ascend Indiana’s Network platform for job opportunities with partner employers at: http://bit.ly/Ascend3
2. Immediate job search assistance at WorkOne Indy located at 4410 N. Shadeland Ave.;
3. Dislocated worker training funds are available for displaced workers in Marion and Central Indiana who are interested in skilling up for their next career opportunity; and
4. Complimentary personal finance assistance from Pete the Planner. Impacted workers can reach out to Pete and his team using the dedicated email address: celadon@petetheplanner.com.
