From staff reports

news@joplinglobe.com

Sitton Motor Lines began cutting jobs this week and will continue to do so through December as the company prepares to shut down, according to Jasen Jones, executive director of the Workforce Investment Board in Joplin.

Jones said as many as 237 jobs will be affected, although some of those are driver jobs that are not based in the area. Other jobs being cut at the 30-year-old company include office and shop personnel in Joplin.

Multiple calls to the company Wednesday were referred to Richard Sitton, president and chief executive officer, but none of the calls was returned.

Sitton Motor Lines is a privately held company.

“We have been told that they are closing,” Jones said Wednesday.

Under federal law, employers are required to notify their state officials any time more than 50 workers are losing their jobs.

Jones said the state’s Rapid Response team is scheduled to meet with Sitton employees at 2:30 and 3:45 p.m. Monday at the company’s headquarters on Highway 43 southwest of Joplin.

The meetings will allow employees to learn about things such as unemployment insurance, assistance available for job searches and potential training opportunities.

For employees who cannot attend Monday’s meetings, job counselors from the Missouri Career Center are available to meet with workers individually as needed. The Joplin Career Center may be reached at 417-629-3000.

According to the company’s Web Site, Sitton Motor Lines was founded on July 4, 1979, by David Sitton and his two sons, Richard and Michael. The three started by investing their “life savings,” and began serving 13 states with five owner-operator truck tractors and 50 trailers.

David Sitton died in 1994, and Richard Sitton then took over the company.

Sitton Motor Lines, which operated as an irregular truck route contract carrier, was recognized over the years with many safety awards provided by the American Trucking Association and other organizations.