Boerne Freight Company (Amazon-tied) Layoff 2026: What Employees Need to Do This Week

A layoff notice from Boerne Freight Company starts five time-sensitive clocks that most employees do not know about. The company, an Amazon-affiliated freight carrier based in Boerne, Texas, announced on September 22, 2026 that it is cutting hundreds of freight and logistics workers in the greater San Antonio area. Severance terms have not been made public. What follows is a deadline-by-deadline breakdown of every decision you need to make, starting today.

What happened

Boerne Freight Company, a freight and logistics carrier tied to Amazon's delivery network, announced layoffs on September 22, 2026. Hundreds of workers in the San Antonio area are affected. The company has not disclosed severance terms publicly.¹

File for unemployment today, not tomorrow

Unemployment insurance is a state benefit, and in Texas, it works like this: your claim does not go back to your last day worked. It goes back to the Sunday of the week you filed. Every week you wait is a week of benefits you give up for free.

Texas pays a maximum of $577 per week in unemployment benefits.² Most claimants receive less, based on their prior earnings. But $577 is the ceiling. To get anywhere close to that ceiling, you need to file immediately.

File at workintexas.com, which is the Texas Workforce Commission's official filing portal. You can also call TWC at 800-939-6631 if you have trouble with the online system. Have your Social Security number, employment history for the past 18 months, and your employer's address ready before you start.

Texas does not have a waiting week, so benefits can begin from the first eligible week. But they cannot begin before the week you filed. Do not delay.

TWC may contact you to verify your identity before releasing benefits. Respond to any ID verification request within the deadline they give you, or your claim will be paused.

What should you do about your severance agreement?

Boerne Freight has not disclosed its severance terms publicly. That means if you receive a severance offer, you're getting the first look at it right now, under pressure. Here's what you need to know before you sign anything.

A severance agreement is a contract. In exchange for a payment, you typically waive certain rights, including, in many cases, the right to sue your employer for claims related to your termination. That's a significant tradeoff. Read it word for word.

If you are 40 years old or older, federal law gives you specific protections under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. For an individual separation, you must be given at least 21 days to review the agreement.³ Because this is a group layoff affecting hundreds of employees, that window likely extends to 45 days.³ Your employer cannot pressure you to sign before those windows close.

After you sign, you have 7 days to change your mind and revoke the agreement.³ The agreement is not effective until that 7-day revocation period passes. So even if you sign on day one, the deal isn't final for another week.

Things worth checking in any severance agreement:

• Does it include a non-compete or non-solicitation clause? In Texas, these can be enforceable if drafted correctly.
• Does it waive your right to file an EEOC charge? (It generally cannot, but a waiver of damages can be included.)
• Is there a clawback provision if you take certain new jobs?
• Does the payment cover your final paycheck, or is that separate?

If you can afford a one-hour consultation with an employment attorney, this is the time to use it. The cost is usually $200 to $400. That's a small price against a severance agreement you might regret signing.

What should you do about health insurance?

When your job ends, your employer-sponsored health coverage ends too, either on your last day or at the end of that month. After that, you have two options: COBRA or the federal Marketplace.

COBRA lets you keep your current plan. The catch is cost. Under COBRA, you pay the full premium, your share plus what your employer was covering, plus a 2% administrative fee. For individual coverage, the average COBRA premium in 2026 runs $703 per month.⁴ For family coverage, the number is significantly higher.

You have 60 days from your qualifying event (or from when you receive the COBRA notice, whichever is later) to elect coverage.⁵ COBRA has a useful feature: you can wait until you actually need care, elect retroactively within that 60-day window, and coverage applies back to your last day of employer coverage. That's a useful safety net if you're healthy and just need to bridge a short gap.

The Marketplace is the other path. Losing job-based health coverage counts as a qualifying life event that triggers a 60-day Special Enrollment Period at healthcare.gov.⁶ Marketplace plans can be cheaper than COBRA, especially if your income has dropped significantly. Tax credits are based on projected annual income for 2026, not your previous salary. Run the numbers at healthcare.gov before you decide.

The practical advice: don't let either window expire without making a decision. Going uninsured is always the most expensive option if something goes wrong.

What about the taxes on your severance?

If Boerne Freight pays you severance, the IRS treats it as supplemental wages. The federal withholding rate on supplemental wages is 22%.⁷ That 22% comes out automatically when the check is cut.

The problem is that 22% may not be enough. If your total income for 2026 pushes you into a higher marginal bracket, you'll owe the difference when you file your return next April. Most people don't plan for this and get a surprise tax bill.

The Q3 2026 estimated tax payment was due September 15, 2026.⁸ If your severance lands in the fourth quarter, Q4 estimated taxes are due January 15, 2027. Run a quick estimate of your total 2026 income, prior wages, severance, any unemployment benefits, and compare that to the taxes already withheld. If there's a gap, consider setting aside that amount now rather than scrambling in April.

Texas has no state income tax, so this is a federal-only calculation for most Boerne Freight workers.

What do you do with your 401(k)?

When you leave an employer, you generally have three options for your 401(k):

• Leave it in the plan (if the plan allows it and your balance is above $5,000)
• Roll it directly into a new employer's plan or an IRA
• Take a cash distribution

The third option is almost always the most expensive. A cash distribution gets taxed as ordinary income in the year you take it, and if you're under 59 and a half, you'll also pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty on top of regular income tax. Don't take the cash unless you have no other option.

If you want to roll your 401(k) to an IRA, do a direct rollover. The money goes from your old plan directly to the new account without passing through your hands. No taxes withheld, no deadlines to worry about.

If you take an indirect rollover (meaning the plan sends you a check), you have exactly 60 days to deposit that money into a qualifying account.⁹ Miss the 60-day window and the entire amount becomes taxable income for 2026. The plan is also required to withhold 20% for taxes upfront on indirect distributions, so you'd need to come up with that 20% from other funds to roll over the full amount and avoid taxes.

Direct rollover is simpler. Call your 401(k) plan administrator and ask specifically for a direct rollover to an IRA. They'll walk you through the paperwork.

Deadlines and rules described here reflect federal law and general state guidelines as of the article date.

The Layoff Guide

The deadlines above apply whether or not you are tracking them. The Layoff Guide from Layoff HQ is a 33-page field guide that covers all twelve post-layoff deadline events in the order they arrive: unemployment, the severance review and revocation windows, COBRA and the Marketplace, your FSA, your equity window, your 401(k), and your taxes. Each event comes with timed checkpoints, the decision math, and the one mistake that costs people the most, plus a fill-in worksheet that turns your last day worked into your complete personal deadline calendar. One-time purchase. No subscription. Instant download, with a 14-day full refund if it is not useful.

Get The Layoff Guide, $39 or build your free Decision Calendar.

Written by the Layoff HQ research team. Sources verified against DOL, EEOC, IRS, and state workforce agency primary documentation.

1. San Antonio Express-News, reporting on Boerne Freight Company layoffs, September 2026. expressnews.com
2. Texas Workforce Commission, Eligibility and Benefit Amounts. twc.texas.gov
3. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (OWBPA provisions). eeoc.gov
4. KFF, Health Policy 101: Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance, 2026. kff.org
5. U.S. Department of Labor, COBRA Continuation Coverage. dol.gov
6. HealthCare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods. healthcare.gov
7. IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, supplemental wage withholding. irs.gov
8. IRS, When to Pay Estimated Tax. irs.gov
9. IRS, Rollover Chart, Retirement Plans. irs.gov