JANESVILLE — Con-way Freight is closing its Janesville terminal and 39 others to streamline operations and save as much as $40 million annually.
In Janesville, the Nov. 17 closing of the Con-Way operation at 1321 W. Avalon Road will result in the elimination of 44 jobs.
Local employees will have the opportunity to transfer to a Con-way operation in Rockford or a different system in the company’s network.
Con-way Freight is a less-than-truckload carrier that combines smaller freight loads from a variety of shippers in each truck.
“In study after study, customers have told us the service attributes most important to their business are exception-free delivery, reliable on-time service and fast transit times,” John G. Labrie, president of Con-way Freight, said in a news release. “The prime objective of this effort was to create improvement opportunities in all three service performance factors, and to identify areas where we could reduce costs and gain efficiencies through better process design and asset deployment.”
Con-way Freight plans to cut 40 service centers and to redistribute their freight to other centers.
When the closures are complete in December, Con-Way will have 303 service centers in the United States and Canada supported by 70 freight assembly centers.
Labrie said the company will improve service without leaving any markets.
“Every customer and every community that receives direct service today from Con-way Freight will continue to receive direct service when our network change is complete,” he said.
The 40 centers that will close are generally smaller locations. More than 75 percent of affected employees at closing locations will have the opportunity to follow work to a new operating location.
Severance packages and career counseling assistance will be provided to those employees who are unable to remain with the company.
Company spokesman Gary Frantz emphasized the company is not eliminating any services in Janesville. The only difference is that the service will originate in Rockford.