U.S. Logistics Solutions (USLS), formerly Forward Air Solutions, is doing anything but moving forward.
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On Monday, USLS stated it had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 21 after being “notified by its lender that it will no longer receive the necessary funding to continue operations.”
Ten Oaks Group owns USLS after acquiring Forward Air Solutions for $20 million in 2021, which marked the investing firm’s first logistics transaction. Ten Oaks then moved the company’s headquarters from Tennessee to Texas.
Eric Culberson, USLS’s former president, shared a LinkedIn post Friday, first reported by FreightWaves, calling the closure an “abrupt decision by [USLS’s] private ownership group to close our doors at the same time business was surging.”
He went on to say that the closure would affect more than 2,000 employees. Ten Oaks, however, said USLS employed about 1,200 people: 864 direct employees, 305 contractors and temps and 57 owners and operators.
“The timing of this closure did not give me the chance to thank my team for their commitment and support to our customers and to each other,” Culberson wrote.
USLS had facilities in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and other states.
Ten Oaks said it appreciates the commitment of USLS’s employees and contractors and regrets the impact it will have on employees and customers alike.
“We are deeply disappointed by the lender’s sudden decision to cease further funding for US Logistics Solutions, which left the company no time to provide advanced notice to employees or properly wind-down operations,” Ten Oaks said in a statement. “Despite the unwavering commitment of the company’s leadership team and workforce to navigate challenging market conditions and improve financial health, the ongoing turbulence in the trucking and logistics industry proved insurmountable.”
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According to FreightWaves, some employees found out about the closure via payroll processor ADP. The outlet also reported that, prior to this closure, employees at USLS had faced several rounds of layoffs over the course of the past few months.
As of Monday, USLS had not filed a WARN notice in Texas, according to the state’s records, which would alert the state to the closure. It also had not filed a WARN notice in North Carolina, where Ten Oaks is headquartered, or in Tennessee, where USLS’ former headquarters were located.
The The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN Act) requires that private companies with over 100 employees notify the appropriate officials—and their employees—with at least 60 days’ notice when they expect to close a plant or go through with mass layoffs.
Despite the closure and bankruptcy filing, USLS’s profile with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) remains active. That profile notes that the company had 500 drivers.
USLS’s website provided an “under maintenance” notice Monday, which prevented users from accessing it.
Culberson also did not not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment.
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