XPO/Con-way deal finalized; one fleet anticipates layoffs

XPO Logistics’ $3 billion acquisition of Con-way was made official Friday, Oct. 30. XPO announced in September its plans to acquire Con-way and to rebrand Con-way’s operations to XPO.

In reaction to the sale and in anticipation of possible layoffs at Con-way, one fleet has made it known it’s interested in hiring folks who may be leaving the Michigan-based company. Layoffs have already been reported at Con-way in Oregon, according to media reports.

Con-way Freight now owned by XPO.

XPO will buy 46.15 million of Con-way’s 57.23 million shares at $47.60 each. The remainder of the shares not validly tendered in the tender offer have been canceled and converted into the right to receive the same $47.60 per share. On its final day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Oct. 29, Con-way’s stock closed at $47.55. When the deal was announced in early September, Con-way’s stock was trading at $35.53.

All of the acquired operations – Con-way Freight, Menlo Logistics, Con-way Truckload and Con-way Multimodal – are now operating under the single brand of XPO Logistics.

In the 2015 CCJ Top 250, Con-way ranked as the country’s sixth largest carrier, while XPO ranked as the country’s 12th. The acquisition makes XPO the second largest less-than-truckload carrier in North America, the company says.

Con-way has 582 locations and roughly 30,000 employees. The company posted $5.8 billion in revenue in 2014. It has nearly 12,000 power units and nearly 17,000 drivers.

In a reaction to the sale and at least one media report of layoffs at Con-way, one fleet has made it known it’s interested in hiring folks who may be leaving the Michigan-based company.

R & L Carriers, which is based in Wilmington, Ohio, created a website Conwaylayoff.com in hopes of recruiting those who may find themselves in need of a job.

In a statement issued today, R & L said:

“While no layoffs were officially announced, during negotiations, XPO management was clear it would eliminate redundancies and look for other ways to “leverage” divisions of the combined companies.

“After XPO’s purchase of Dublin, Ohio-based Pacer International in March 2014, XPO laid off a number of workers including some top managers, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

“R+L Carriers launched Conwaylayoff.com to inform those employees that may have been affected by the merger, of similar opportunities that we have where they may be able to put their skills to work.”

Matt Cole, associate editor at Overdrive, contributed to this story.