Two years after announcing plans to expand its Chattanooga offices with another 500 employees, Arrive Logistics is abandoning plans for brick and mortar offices in Chattanooga and shifting its staff in Chattanooga to work at home.
Effective Thursday, the Texas-based freight broker is giving up its 11,000-square-foot lease in Chattanooga’s “freight alley” and shifting its 19-employee Chattanooga workforce to remote work.
In 2018, Arrive Logistics expanded to Chattanooga with an office in the same second-floor office space of the downtown Chattanooga Lifestyle Center on Broad Street as Steam Logistics, which brokers freight shipments around the globe, and Reliance Partners, one of the biggest insurance agencies targeting truckers and shippers. The three logistics companies shared a cafeteria, make-shift bar, restrooms and meeting areas.
On Wednesday, Arrive Logistics founder and CEO Matt Pyatt said the company decided against renewing its Chattanooga lease in the Chattanooga Lifestyle Center at 325 Market Street.
“Over the last year, especially due to the pandemic, we have assessed our company’s real estate footprint and have decided to not renew our lease,” Pyatt said in a statement Wednesday. “This decision is not a reflection of the thriving industry or excellent talent in the Chattanooga area but was rooted in Arrive’s future location expansion strategy.”
Pyatt said the change will eliminate only one Chattanooga job.
“Otherwise, all other Chattanooga employees will continue in their current roles,” he said. “While we are moving to a fully remote workforce in the Chattanooga area, any employee interested in a physical office will work with the employee relations team to determine appropriate options.”
Arrive Logistics, which began in Austin, Texas in 2014, has been one of the country’s fastest growing freight brokers and has grown to more than 1,000 employees with offices in Austin, Chicago and Chattanooga. In 2020, the company ranked No. 589 on Inc. magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in America.
The company announced plans in 2019 to invest $3.6 million and add another 500 employees in Chattanooga. The expansion was the second biggest job addition announced that year in the Chattanooga region, beyond only the $800 million expansion also announced that year by Volkswagen of America to build its battery-powered SUV known as the ID.4.
But early last year, Arrive Logistics cut 10% of of entire staff due to a slowdown in business amid the business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Since last April, however, the company has added about 200 more workers.
Although there are no immediate plans to expand in Chattanooga, Arrive Logistics Chief People Officer Chelsea Woodhead said Wednesday that “Arrive still believes that Chattanooga is a great logistics talent market and as we continue to grow, we see our team in Chattanooga as part of our talent strategy.”
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.
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