11/11: DHL will be leaving the US market
Category: Parcel Carrier News
Posted by: froglog
As of January 30th, DHL will be gone from the US market. This was reported to Freight88 by one of the 3PL's that use our rate engine.
9500 will be without jobs and several companies are switching over to FedEx and UPS to sustain their customer base.
On the same day shipping provider DHL announced it will slash 9,500 jobs and discontinue its U.S.-based air and ground services, driver Pat Beiger - who turns 60 in January - learned that one of those jobs is hers.
"Friday is my last day," she said, sitting in a company truck in the parking lot at the DHL Express Melville facility. "I just found out today."
Beiger, of East Meadow, said the way things were going with the company, job cuts were not a surprise. That doesn't make it any easier, she added. In 10 years at DHL, Beiger has had two knee operations, proof, she said, that driving and delivering packages is labor-intensive. "The tough thing is that I just reached the highest pay scale," she said, citing a $24.85 hourly wage.
Like Beiger, George Curiacopoulos, 55, of Lake Ronkonkoma, said he could see the cuts coming. That's why the DHL driver of 13 1/2 years is enrolled in a course to become a certified oil-heat technician. He also just got his New York State Class B driver's license, which allows him to operate larger commercial vehicles, including buses, and taxis. "We knew something was going to happen," Curiacopoulos said.
That sentiment was echoed by fellow driver Carlos Orellana, 62, of Great Neck. "We had two meetings today with the company, and they are posting seniority lists now," he said. "Not everybody knows yet who will have jobs. But by January, we will lose a lot of jobs."
The latest cuts mean DHL Express, which competes with UPS and FedEx for domestic air and ground shipping, has trimmed 14,900 jobs since January. DHL, which is owned by German-based Deutsche Post, will end its U.S. domestic services by Jan. 30, 2009, but will continue international services to and from U.S. locations. After the cutbacks, DHL Express is expected to employ 3,000 to 4,000 workers nationwide. DHL Express also will reduce its U.S. ground hubs from 412 to 103.
According to the company's Web site, three of those hubs are on Long Island - in Melville, Inwood and Ronkonkoma - and one is in Woodside, Queens.
Calls to the company regarding staffing numbers and the status of its Long Island facilities were not returned yesterday. Neither was a call to Teamsters Local 295 in Valley Stream, which represents DHL drivers on Long Island. The company did respond via e-mail, saying that "no decisions have been made as to the numbers of job cuts at DHL locations ... The precise impact by location will be determined over the next few months."
This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.
9500 will be without jobs and several companies are switching over to FedEx and UPS to sustain their customer base.
On the same day shipping provider DHL announced it will slash 9,500 jobs and discontinue its U.S.-based air and ground services, driver Pat Beiger - who turns 60 in January - learned that one of those jobs is hers.
"Friday is my last day," she said, sitting in a company truck in the parking lot at the DHL Express Melville facility. "I just found out today."
Beiger, of East Meadow, said the way things were going with the company, job cuts were not a surprise. That doesn't make it any easier, she added. In 10 years at DHL, Beiger has had two knee operations, proof, she said, that driving and delivering packages is labor-intensive. "The tough thing is that I just reached the highest pay scale," she said, citing a $24.85 hourly wage.
Like Beiger, George Curiacopoulos, 55, of Lake Ronkonkoma, said he could see the cuts coming. That's why the DHL driver of 13 1/2 years is enrolled in a course to become a certified oil-heat technician. He also just got his New York State Class B driver's license, which allows him to operate larger commercial vehicles, including buses, and taxis. "We knew something was going to happen," Curiacopoulos said.
That sentiment was echoed by fellow driver Carlos Orellana, 62, of Great Neck. "We had two meetings today with the company, and they are posting seniority lists now," he said. "Not everybody knows yet who will have jobs. But by January, we will lose a lot of jobs."
The latest cuts mean DHL Express, which competes with UPS and FedEx for domestic air and ground shipping, has trimmed 14,900 jobs since January. DHL, which is owned by German-based Deutsche Post, will end its U.S. domestic services by Jan. 30, 2009, but will continue international services to and from U.S. locations. After the cutbacks, DHL Express is expected to employ 3,000 to 4,000 workers nationwide. DHL Express also will reduce its U.S. ground hubs from 412 to 103.
According to the company's Web site, three of those hubs are on Long Island - in Melville, Inwood and Ronkonkoma - and one is in Woodside, Queens.
Calls to the company regarding staffing numbers and the status of its Long Island facilities were not returned yesterday. Neither was a call to Teamsters Local 295 in Valley Stream, which represents DHL drivers on Long Island. The company did respond via e-mail, saying that "no decisions have been made as to the numbers of job cuts at DHL locations ... The precise impact by location will be determined over the next few months."
This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.
