Business World

No. 1 U.S. trucking company YRC Worldwide Inc plans to seek $1 billion in federal bailout money to help it cover its pension obligations, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The company, which has been shedding jobs and closing facilities to cut costs in the face of a brutal U.S. recession faces an estimated $2 billion in pension obligations over the next four years, spokeswoman Suzanne Dawson confirmed

The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Its shares were down 2 percent, or 7 cents, to $3.20 in early electronic trading.

YRC will submit an application to the Treasury as early as Friday quick guaranteed personal loans.

In January, its unionized workers agreed to a 10 percent pay cut in return for a 15 percent stake in the company.

Over the past year, YRC shares have fallen 82 percent, a far steeper drop than the 43 percent fall of the Dow Jones Transportation Average .DJT.

(Reporting by Nick Carey in Chicago, additional reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore, writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Derek Caney)

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