Yellow Corporation

Yellow Corporation's July 2023 bankruptcy ended a 99-year-old trucking company with 30,000 employees, demonstrating how labor conflict can trigger sudden collapse even in otherwise viable businesses. The company (formerly YRC Worldwide) had been struggling with Teamsters contract negotiations; when talks broke down, Yellow filed bankruptcy within days. The mechanism failure was labor relations breakdown in a labor-intensive business. Yellow's relationship with the Teamsters had been contentious for years, including concessions during prior near-bankruptcies. When Yellow attempted to restructure operations without union consent, the Teamsters threatened to strike. Yellow calculated it couldn't survive even a brief strike and filed for bankruptcy. This is mutualism collapse—labor and management needed each other but couldn't cooperate on terms both would accept. Yellow's sudden death—from operating to liquidating in weeks—demonstrated how quickly labor-intensive businesses can unravel. Drivers found other jobs; customers found other carriers; equipment was auctioned. The 99-year-old company ceased to exist because labor and management couldn't agree on terms for continued operation.