Laid off from WeDriveU.

What WeDriveU layoffs have meant for employees

Who ended the contract separates one WeDriveU notice from the next, and it shapes who you'd be dealing with afterward. In Framingham and Kern County, an agency chose another operator. In Washington, WMATA, the regional transit authority, cut Diamond's work and then, Mobico's May 2026 notice said, ended it. In Charleston, Mobico's 2025 results describe the exit as WeDriveU's own, a step the parent says spares it future losses. We haven't found a stated reason for the Tucson notice or the one for Taunton and Wareham. The names shift too. National Express Transit, which Virginia Business described as being rebranded under WeDriveU, bought Diamond in 2016, so a notice can carry an older name than the company uses now, as several in our WARN tracker do.

The Washington dispute shows how a contract fight lands on drivers. WMATA awarded Diamond all of its dedicated MetroAccess work in June 2024. Diamond's federal complaint, which is one party's account, says an October 31, 2025 run cut took away about half its hours and had to happen within 30 days. Union alerts quoted in that filing told ATU Local 689 drivers they could pick a run by seniority, at Challenger's new garage or a Diamond garage. Diamond says it refused to go along and told its unions it wouldn't help redirect drivers. If you were a Local 689 MetroAccess driver, your seniority date is what those alerts tied the pick to, so it's worth having it close. Diamond's Virginia notice separately described bumping rights for union members under certain circumstances, and one non-union manager on that notice had none.

Warning got shorter as the dispute went on. Diamond's November letter said it couldn't give the full notice because WMATA's decision was sudden and outside its control, and it put the layoffs at the end of that month. Its chief executive had told WMATA on November 4 that the cut didn't allow 60 days, the complaint says. Diamond also put the costs of an orderly wind-down of its operations into a $7,281,945 certified claim against WMATA that November, its own complaint says. In May the state's copy of the notice came after the fact. Maryland's labor department received it a day after the May 12 effective date, The Daily Record reported, and the proposed class-action complaint alleges employees heard only on the day they were laid off.

Charleston's record holds two closure notices for one site. The same North Charleston address appears twice as a WeDriveU closure in South Carolina's WARN report, first for October 1, 2025 and then, in a notice dated December 28, for February 28, 2026. CARTA, the area's transit authority, changed operators on February 1, the Post and Courier reported. The two counts may overlap, so we don't add them together.

An incoming operator's commitment isn't a job offer, and the distance between the two is the practical risk for anyone counting on one. Keolis's commitment in Framingham, in MetroWest's board minutes, covered key team members and depended on background checks. Across the MetroAccess transition, WMATA's advisory committee reported far fewer drivers through onboarding than had offers as of the May meeting. MTM Transit's release on Kern Transit mentioned workforce stability only as part of its general approach. If you're considering an unemployment claim while a start date is unsettled, the pages for Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Massachusetts and California line up with WeDriveU's 2026 notices.

A sourced history of WeDriveU layoffs

• August 2026, Kiessling notice in Taunton and Wareham

  National Express Transit Corp., doing business as Kiessling of Attleboro, put 162 jobs and a September 15 layoff date on its Massachusetts notice, our WARN tracker shows.

• July 2026, WeDriveU closure notices in Kern County

  WeDriveU's closure notices for five Kern County sites listed 63 jobs, effective October 1, our WARN tracker shows. MTM Transit's press release announced that same date as the start of its five-year contract to operate Kern Transit, won in a competitive procurement.

• May 2026, WMATA terminates Diamond's MetroAccess contract

  WMATA ended the contract May 12, Mobico's notice said. Its closure notices listed 144 jobs at Springfield and 571 at Landover, according to our WARN tracker, and a proposed class action alleges Landover workers heard that day, The Daily Record reported. WMATA's advisory committee said the work went to Transdev and Challenger.

• February 2026, WeDriveU exits Charleston's CARTA contract early

  The early exit avoids losses of about $3.5 million a year, Mobico's 2025 results said. CARTA changed operators February 1, with RATP Dev managing drivers, the Post and Courier reported. South Carolina's WARN report lists 215 workers on a July 2025 closure notice and 194 on one dated December 28.

• November 2025, WMATA run cut hits Diamond

  Diamond's notices listed 194 jobs at Capitol Heights and 182 at Landover, our WARN tracker shows, and its letter to Virginia listed 61 more at Springfield after what it called a sudden WMATA decision, Virginia Business reported. Its federal complaint says the October 31 run cut halved its hours and split service with Challenger.

• July 2025, Tucson notice

  WeDriveU filed a notice in Arizona listing 138 jobs in Tucson, according to our WARN tracker.

• April 2025, Framingham notices as MWRTA picks Keolis

  WeDriveU's Kiessling Transit filed notices for 124 and then 7 jobs with layoffs dated June 30, our WARN tracker shows. MetroWest's board minutes award the work to Keolis from July 1 and record its commitment to keep key team members on current terms, pending background checks.

• September 2023, Milwaukee-area client changes vendors

  National Express Transit's letter to Wisconsin said a client would change transportation vendors effective October 31, with layoffs expected to be permanent at Milwaukee-area sites. The notice covers 140 jobs by our WARN tracker's count, and the letter's own table adds to 83.

• 2020 and 2021, California closure notices

  National Express Transit filed permanent closure notices covering 267 jobs in Merced in February 2020 and 158 in Stanislaus County in October 2021, our WARN tracker shows.

What to do if you're laid off from WeDriveU

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. WeDriveU's biggest hubs: Maryland, Virginia, California, Massachusetts. 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 WeDriveU's hub states run: Maryland, Virginia, California, Massachusetts, 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.