80-Plus Austin Jobs Cut After Company Loses Amazon Contract

AUSTIN, TX — Arkansas-based freight company RCX Logistics will shut down its local operations following the cancellation of its contract with Amazon — throwing more than 500 employees out of work in Texas, including nearly 90 in Austin — Patch has learned.

Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, the company on Wednesday alerted the Texas Workers Commission of the imminent layoffs under provisions of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Commonly known under its acronym WARN, the law requires a 60-day advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs of employees.

Related correspondence to regulators requested by Patch details the jobs to be cut — 88 in Austin; 304 in Fort Worth; and 110 in Houston. According to the letter sent to regulators by company vice president Sandy Walker, the Amazon contract will come to an end on April 12. As a result, the Texas operations of RCX Logistics will close permanently, she wrote.

Affected employees lack so-called "bumping rights," a tactic that would enable a more senior employee to replace a less senior counterpart. Such rights are typically exercised when a a workforce reduction results in the elimination of a more seasoned worker.

The redacted correspondence prevents the disclosure of detailed work descriptions of those affected. The Texas Workforce Commission long included a list of job descriptions with companies' correspondence on layoffs, but in recent years has taken to blacking out such details in citing provisions related to worker privacy.