MAHONING TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- An international trucking company that has terminals in the Poconos and central Pennsylvania says it plans to wind down operations.
New England Motor Freight says it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Founded back in 1977, NEMF has since employed hundreds of workers in our area. The company is based in New Jersey but has terminals near Lehighton and in the Milton area.
Taking over a truck terminal in 1986, NEMF has been in the Lehighton area for more than 30 years, but soon, this facility will no longer be in business.
Steve McEvoy is the regional operations manager at the facility in Mahoning Township and says the 250 people who work there will be out of a job.
“We have a lot of great people here, a lot of hard workers. It's an emotional time for us right now. We'll all be out there in the workforce looking for something else,” said McEvoy.
Laurie Walck is one of those employees. She's been there for seven years.
“I've been with the company for a while. I know a lot of people who have been with the company for a really long time, so you're talking some people been here 30 years plus, so I think everyone's going to miss the comradery that you have with work and everything,” said Walck.
The facility in Carbon County is one of two terminals owned by NEMF in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. A second terminal near Milton is also closing.
“The facility is still going to be here and maybe another trucking company will come along and employ a lot of the people who worked here before,” said McEvoy.
For restaurants around the terminal, they say this closure will hurt them as well. One of those restaurants is Verona Pizza House in Lehighton.
“They come in here for lunch. They all come in after work. We deliver to a lot of those guys, and if they're not working, that's going to trickle down to us a little bit I guess,” said worker Fred Gladhill. “Good customers, a lot of people are going to lose jobs. It's a shame.”
“Saying goodbye to them all is the hardest part. It definitely is, but like I said, a lot of great people here, a lot of good workers,” said McEvoy.
New England Motor Freight has not said when the two terminals in our area will close.