Laid off from Ryder.
Ryder's 2026 WARN letters describe handoffs more than shutdowns. A customer's contract ends, Ryder files for the site, and the work continues under the customer or a new operator, which in Waterloo and Green Bay was expected to take on Ryder workers.
At a glance
What's known about Ryder severance and layoffs
- 51,600 · Ryder employees, end of 2025
- 12,700 · Ryder professional drivers, end of 2025
- 922 across eight states · Ryder WARN jobs in our tracker since 2025
- 153 jobs, Waterloo, Iowa, April 2026 · Largest Ryder filing in our tracker since 2025
- February 2024, $302 million · Cardinal Logistics acquisition
- November 2023, about $254 million · IFS acquisition
- No terms on record · Ryder severance terms for site workers
- None applied · Bumping rights, Green Bay and Plainfield letters
Recent Ryder layoffs
Ryder's August 2026 Fayetteville notice covers 73 jobs as another provider takes over the site
In August 2026 Ryder sent WARN notices for 73 workers at its Gillespie St. location in Fayetteville, N.C., effective Oct. 12, saying another logistics provider would run the facility and that Ryder would keep operating in the area.
Previous rounds
Ryder layoff history
Losing a Ryder job can mean watching the building carry on without you, which stings in its own way. In April 2026 Ryder said it would stop managing a Waterloo, Iowa warehouse after its contract wasn't renewed and planned to move all 153 workers to HODGE, the Dubuque company set to take the site. Later that month Ryder told Wisconsin a customer contract covering two Green Bay sites wasn't renewed, putting 151 Ryder jobs on a June 30 end date. In June, Ryder's letter to Indiana cited a customer's changing business needs for 76 Plainfield terminations at a site it said would keep running. Our tracker holds 922 Ryder jobs across eight states since the start of 2025.
Ryder has been plain about how this works. When Applied Materials pulled its Austin, Texas site work in 2023, taking part in house and handing part to two other providers, Ryder filed for about 801 jobs at a partnership dating to 1999. Supply Chain Dive reported that Ryder's partnerships ran on three- and five-year cycles, and Ryder told it, "We regularly win, and on occasion, do not renew certain customer accounts in the normal course of business." On the floor, that normal course arrives as a WARN letter with a date on it.
A handoff can be the gentler outcome, since the new operator may want you, but the Green Bay and Plainfield notices both said no bumping rights applied, so you couldn't displace someone at another Ryder site to stay on the payroll. Plainfield workers got a pointer to the careers section of ryder.com instead. When the Shoemakersville fulfillment center in Berks County, Pennsylvania was set to wind down in 2025 after its building lease wasn't renewed, Ryder cited redeployment efforts and pointed people to openings around Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
Money is where the record goes thin. Ryder's severance for site and hourly roles has no terms on record in the reporting we track, and the severance documents in its 10-K exhibit list cover officers and executives. In December 2008 Ryder announced plans to cut about 700 positions, primarily in the U.S., with an $11 million charge that was all severance and termination benefits. Its 2025 annual report put $9 million in 2025 on a line it said mostly reflected consolidating and closing facilities and severance tied to cost savings initiatives, and $6 million in 2024, mostly severance, naming no sites.
Cardinal Logistics, bought February 1, 2024 for $302 million, brought 3,400 professional drivers and 200 locations, which Ryder said it would fully integrate. Impact Fulfillment Services, bought November 1, 2023 for about $254 million, came with roughly 1,000 full-time employees Ryder said it planned to keep. At the end of 2025 Ryder had 51,600 employees, 12,700 of them professional drivers, and its dedicated fleet was down to 6,900 power vehicles from 7,500, a shrinkage Ryder said reflected a prolonged freight downturn. It also reported lost dedicated business.
Read your WARN notice line by line. Federal WARN covers employers with 100 or more full-time workers, and when a closing or mass layoff meets its other conditions, the Department of Labor says you're owed written notice 60 days ahead stating whether the cut is permanent, your separation date, any bumping rights and a company contact. Plainfield's letter to the state said a list of affected job titles was kept onsite, so ask site HR for it if your role's status is fuzzy. If required notice came late or not at all, you may be able to seek up to 60 days of back pay and benefits through federal district court, since the department has no enforcement role. Your state's Rapid Response unit gets the notice too, so reemployment help can start before your last day. Every filing behind these numbers, Cardinal's included, sits in our WARN tracker.
Reporting on previous Ryder layoff rounds
August 2026, Fayetteville, N.C. · 73 workers at 2486 Gillespie St., effective Oct. 12, with another logistics provider taking the facility.
June 2026, Plainfield, Ind. · 76 employees at a customer site, with terminations set for July 31 over the customer's changing business needs. Ryder said the site would keep operating.
Ryder pointed workers to its careers site and said no bumping rights applied.
April 2026, Green Bay, Wis. · 151 jobs at two sites after a customer contract wasn't renewed, scheduled to end June 30 and described as permanent.
Ryder said the customer and incoming provider meant to keep as many workers as possible. No bumping rights.
April 2026, Waterloo, Iowa · 153 jobs at a warehouse Ryder would stop managing after its contract wasn't renewed, with HODGE of Dubuque set to take the site.
A Ryder spokesperson said the company planned to transition all workers to the new operator.
December 2025, Laurel Hill, N.C. · 91 jobs in our tracker.
August to December 2025, Berks County, Pa. · 76 employees at the Shoemakersville fulfillment center, set to close after its building lease wasn't renewed.
Ryder cited redeployment efforts and pointed workers to openings in the Allentown area.
March 2025, Hutchins, Texas · 110 jobs in our tracker.
January 2023, Austin, Texas · About 801 employees at an Applied Materials site, as the customer split the work between itself and two other providers.
December 2008, announced reduction · About 700 positions, primarily in the U.S., plus about 2,400 in exits from South America and European supply chain contracts.
About $11 million, all severance and termination benefits.
What to do after being laid off from Ryder
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Ryder's biggest hubs: Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Ryder's hub states run: Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
Ryder layoff and severance questions
Is Ryder laying off workers in 2026?
In 2026 Ryder's cuts came one filing at a time, each covering specific locations. Our tracker holds 453 Ryder jobs across four states in 2026, led by April filings for 153 jobs in Waterloo, Iowa and 151 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, then Plainfield, Indiana with 76 in June and Fayetteville, North Carolina with 73 in August. No companywide announcement came with them in the reporting we track.
Does Ryder pay severance to laid off warehouse workers?
No severance terms for Ryder site roles are on record in the reporting we track. The severance documents in Ryder's 10-K exhibit list are an Officer Severance Plan and executive agreements, and Ryder's Plainfield WARN letter doesn't mention it. Any offer would be in your separation paperwork, so read it slowly before you sign.
What happens to Ryder employees when the customer switches providers?
Your Ryder job ends even when the work doesn't. In Green Bay, Ryder said the incoming provider meant to keep as many people as it could, but affected employees' Ryder employment was still set to end June 30, with no bumping rights. In Waterloo, Ryder said it planned to move the whole workforce to HODGE. A new operator's offer is a job with a new employer, so get its pay, benefits and start date in writing.
Did Ryder cut jobs after buying Cardinal Logistics?
No integration job-cut figure is on record. Ryder bought Cardinal on February 1, 2024 for $302 million, adding 3,400 professional drivers, and said it would fully integrate the business. During 2025 Ryder's dedicated fleet fell from 7,500 power vehicles to 6,900, which Ryder tied to a prolonged freight downturn, and it reported lost dedicated business. Cardinal's filings count as Ryder's in our tracker.
Who took over the Ryder warehouse in Waterloo, Iowa?
HODGE, a fourth-generation, family-owned Dubuque business, was expected to open the site under its name in late July 2026, KWWL reported after Ryder's April filing. Ryder said it planned to transition all 153 workers.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Ryder?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Ryder's biggest U.S. hubs are Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Ryder?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Ryder?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Ryder?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.