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Pandemic spurs more freight-related job cuts across the country

Amazon, Basic Energy Services and BCS Automotive laying off more than 1,400 employees

Oilfield services provider Basic Energy Services could cut about 1,200 jobs in Texas, California and New Mexico, including 175 truck driver positions. (Photo: Basic Energy Services)

The pandemic has prompted several freight-related businesses to eliminate a total of nearly 1,400 jobs, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices filed in several states.

Oilfield services provider Basic Energy Services could cut about 1,200 jobs in Texas, California and New Mexico, including 175 truck drivers, as well as five trucking and supply chain supervisors.

The layoffs could include more than 700 employees in California, 500 in Texas and 70 in New Mexico.

Keith Schilling, CEO of Fort Worth, Texas-based Basic Energy Services, said in a statement earlier this month the company has faced “extraordinary challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”


Basic Energy Services recently filed for bankruptcy and has entered into asset purchase agreements with several companies. If the sales are not completed, or if the acquiring company does not offer current employees jobs following the close of the sales, the positions will be eliminated.

BCS Automotive Interface Solutions U.S. said it is permanently closing an automotive parts plant in Auburn, New York, and laying off 64 people by Sept. 17.

According to a notice filed with the New York Department of Labor, BCS Automotive cited the economy and said it is transferring products/production lines to its Winona, Minnesota, and Reynosa, Mexico, facilities.

BCS Automotive employs six truck drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.


Amazon said it is closing a logistics station in Los Angeles and eliminating 161 jobs by Sept. 28, according to a filing with the Los Angeles Economic & Workforce Development Department.

Amazon did not give a reason for the closure of the DLA3 facility at 5829 Smithway St., in East Los Angeles.

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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact [email protected]