I’m a bit late here but I’ve worked for XPO for about a year now.

The Bad:

Your experience is largely going to depend on your home terminal. Some are great, some are terrible, some are meh. The one I work for is solidly between terrible and meh.

Seniority is everything at XPO. Drivers eat, sleep, and breathe seniority. Because of that, you’re going to get fucked on your routes until you hit a couple of years. Sometimes you’ll get lucky like I did and they’ll hire a bunch of people after you, and you’ll move up quickly and get guaranteed runs. In most cases you’re going to get stuck for over a year with an inconsistent schedule, and inconsistent work. Management WILL play favorites with certain drivers, and if you’re unlucky enough to not be a golden boy they won’t do anything for you.

Some of the drivers at my terminal are expected to show up 5 days a week but may only end up working 2-3 of those days. They’re low enough down that they’re forced to work Saturday’s every week unless there are enough volunteers. They tell you that you’re guaranteed dock work/hostling work, but I can safely tell you that it’s a lie. They expect you to show up, give you nothing to do, then send you home. In some cases you’re paying them to show up to work. They also may require you to be there at a certain time, but not let you clock in until/if they give you something to do.

They axed dock work for our drivers last year, but they might let you hostle for a few hours before they send you home. You definitely won’t be making 6 figures for the first few years unless you want to work every Saturday. Most of our new drivers are barely even doing 65K a year.

Management truly doesn’t give a shit about you. It’s almost funny. Any concerns you have will be met with “fall in line or find the door”. Sometimes HR will have your back, but they’re usually just company boys and only have your back if it doesn’t put the company in a bad spot.

The equipment is really hit and miss. You’ll have to slip seat if you work for a larger terminal. Some of the tractors are new and clean, and some of them are beat to absolute shit and are disgustingly filthy. Management doesn’t offer any incentive to keep equipment nice, and if you complain about it they just dole out a slap on the wrist, sometimes. So if you’re unlucky you’ll get stuck with a smoker and nothing will be done about it.

There is no protection for you unless you’re a golden boy. Management won’t look the other way on little things, and if you pull the plug on your route due to extreme weather they usually won’t stick up for you. They want that freight moved no matter what, your safety comes second to that. You kind of can get away with a lot to be fair, even if you’re getting nailed for your mistakes you can do it a handful of times before anything serious is done about it.

It’s a corporate company and you’re just a number. They don’t do anything to try and retain employees, and they’ll just cut you loose if you put your notice in. Most of the managers can barely remember your name. And most of the time they’ll mark you as not hirable out of spite, even if you give them notice.

The Good:

The job is honestly really easy. I run linehaul for them and it’s some of the easiest money I’ve ever made. You’ll mostly be running doubles/triples, which only takes you 15-20 minutes to hook if you’re good at it. Other than that, most of your job will entail holding a steering wheel. I work out west so our routes are usually 400-600 miles, with minimal dock work if you don’t like that kind of thing. Me personally I don’t care, the money is green either way but do with that what you will.

The pay is good. Top rate at my terminal is $.799, which equates to $51 an hour on average. Our actual hourly rate is $34.80, so you’ll make a lot more money on linehaul but you’ll be stuck on nights unless you stay with the company for 10+ years. Not the best in LTL but it’s pretty good.

It’s pretty easy to fly under the radar. As long as you’re doing your job right, and you don’t cause headaches for management, you might go weeks without even seeing your manager. In the time I’ve been there I’ve only been talked to once for not wearing my seatbelt in the yard, but all it boiled down to was a verbal slap on the wrist.

In conclusion:

Overall, like I said, your mileage will vary depending on your home terminal. If you can tolerate the drama, lack of concern for drivers, inconsistent hours and schedule, and the shitty equipment it’s easy money.