Trump-Backed Trucker Facing Bankruptcy

A trucking business that received a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the federal government may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection this summer amid a dispute with its union, a development that could leave US taxpayers stuck with a failed company, Alan Rappeport reported for the New York Times.

Photo Insert: The financial woes at the business, Yellow, which used to be known as YRC Worldwide, have been building for years. It lost more than $100 million in 2019 and has more than $1.5 billion in outstanding debt.

The financial woes at the business, Yellow, which used to be known as YRC Worldwide, have been building for years. It lost more than $100 million in 2019 and has more than $1.5 billion in outstanding debt, including the government loan.

In 2022, YRC, which ships meal kits, protective equipment and other supplies to the military, agreed to pay $6.85 million to settle a federal lawsuit that accused it of defrauding the Defense Department.

In 2020, the Trump administration, which had ties to the company and its executives, agreed to give the firm a pandemic relief loan in exchange for the federal government assuming a 30% equity stake in the company.

Three years later, Yellow is on the verge of going bankrupt.

On Tuesday, Yellow sued the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for blocking the company’s restructuring plan and accused the union of causing more than $137 million in damages.

The company said that it was taking “immediate steps to try to save itself” and that the union was trying to “cause Yellow’s economic ruin.”

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