As part of their continued restructuring, Celadon Group has announced that they will no longer operate driving academies to help new drivers get their CDLs.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, September 20th.
According to a company press release, Celadon will close its three Celadon Driving Academies, and will instead use third-party driving schools for new drivers.
A third-party driving school that currently works with Celadon plans to take over the three current locations in Indiana.
“Celadon will continue to need new drivers and has determined that a third-party model is a more effective way to hire new drivers. Most trucking companies that deliver freight over the road use a network of accredited driving schools to source new drivers for their fleets,” the company said.
“After a thorough review, we determined that using third-party programs and making additional investments in driver compensation and advanced training would afford a better investment of resources than continuing to operate the schools ourselves,” added Celadon President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Russell.
“Celadon is strongly committed to the Celadon Trucking business units (dry van, refrigerated, intermodal, and dedicated) as well as our Celadon Logistics, A&S, and other operations,” Russell said.
“We are trucking specialists, and we will focus on our core business.”
Despite the exit, Celadon plans to help former Celadon Trucking Academy employees get new jobs.
“We are committed to helping every CDA employee in their career transition,” continued Russell.
“One of Celadon’s third-party driving school partners has expressed interest in hiring many of our associates for their soon-to-be established school here in Indianapolis as well as Richmond and Laredo. In addition, we have open jobs within Celadon for which they can apply.”
Ths announcement comes just one day after Celadon announced the sale of their flatbed trucking sector.
