CRST lays off 38, citing economic conditions

CRST International has laid off 38 administrative employees, including 25 of its roughly 550 employees in Cedar Rapids.

The privately-owned, Cedar Rapids-based trucking and logistics company employs approximately 1,250 nationwide across its seven operating companies.

'The current economic conditions have adversely affected the trucking industry,” said Brooke Willey, CRST vice president of human resources. 'A weak manufacturing sector, in particular steel, as well as retail have really reduced our volumes.

'We frankly just really needed to right-size the business to be applicable to what the shipping volumes look like today. We were staffed to be doing significantly more business.”

Willey said the layoffs took effect immediately. All the affected employees were offered a severance package to help them during the transition.

Willey said no physical locations were closed in connection with the employee reduction. She said the company still expects to move its corporate headquarters to an 11-story office tower under construction in downtown Cedar Rapids.

CRST Chairman John Smith and his wife, Dyan Smith, are building the $37 million, 112,000-square-foot tower. CRST will occupy space in the building along with other tenants, including Bankers Trust, RSM US LLP (formerly McGladrey LLP) and Holmes Murphy.

Willey said CRST is hopeful that the economy will experience a rebound in coming months.

'When that happens, we will be able to grow fairly quickly, which will help us continue to attain our five-year growth plans,” Willey said.