SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Brandon trucking company plans to close around Aug. 16 and 111 people will lose their jobs, a notice the company filed with the state said.
AA Temperature Controlled LLC, doing business as A & A Express, said in its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice, that the company had been seeking capital or a sale but could not achieve either.
“This outcome was not reasonably foreseeable, but due to these unexpected circumstances (the company) can no longer sustain the operations,” A & A president Geno Cannon said in the WARN notice.
Christine Erickson, the president of the South Dakota Trucking Association (SDTA), said she could not comment specifically on A & A’s decision but did say that those 111 jobs are varied. The jobs include truckers, accountants, safety positions and others.
“There is a workforce need for these type of positions,” Erickson said.
“As a trade association, we will do whatever we can for the employees. We are concerned for those 111 employees…,” Erickson said.
The WARN notice from Cannon said the employees either work at or report to the Brandon site.
The SDTA has connections throughout the state, Erickson said. “We’ve already had a few other trucking companies reach out to us,” Erickson said of possible job openings for those who lost jobs.
In some cases, an A & A employee may not want to leave the region.
If possible, the SDTA will try to connect employees with other companies in the region so families don’t have to be uprooted, Erickson said.
The SDTA also works with the auto dealer industry in the state, she said. That industry has openings for vehicle technicians, for example, Erickson said.
The WARN notice from A & A said it plans to terminate the jobs “by or about” Aug. 16 or within a 14-day period of that date. The notice said it was a difficult decision and that it provided as “much notice as practicable of this closing.”
KELOLAND News left a message with Cannon earlier Wednesday morning.
