ABX Air, the current main US airlift carrier for DHL Express, will lay off the first 200 ofpotentially 6,000 employees within the next two months as DHL downscales use of its services as
part of its US restructuring plans.The Wilmington, Ohio-based cargo carrier, which will be severely hit by DHL’s plannedtransfer of North American uplift to UPS, announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement withDHL on severance and retention plans for impending job reductions resulting from the latter’scancellation of 23 ABX Air DC-9 freighters this year.
ABX Air said that following a period of voluntary reductions, it will give notice toapproximately 200 employees next week, and workers will be leaving their jobs no later than 60 daysafter they receive the notices. Employees will be eligible to receive severance options, whichinclude continued health and welfare coverage, and ABX Air will work with local authorities toprovide support for staff seeking new jobs.
“We saw this day coming when we heard the news from DHL on May 28,” said ABX Air PresidentJohn Graber. “Working with DHL, we have been able to offer many of our employees a fair andmeaningful severance package.”
The cancellation of 23 DC-9 freighters is the first step in the phased withdrawal of all 55DC-9s used for DHL services. ABX Air said it expects all its DC-9s to be parked during 2009. ABXAir also currently operates 31 Boeing 767 planes for DHL’s domestic package service.
Local, regional and national politicians have been pressing DHL and parent company DeutschePost World Net to review its decision to close down its Wilmington air hub, or, at the least, toprovide wide-large financial support for the up to 8,000 staff at ABX Air, Astar Air Cargo and DHLitself who are expected to lose their jobs under the restructuring.
Meanwhile, the state of Ohio is looking into other possible uses of DHL-owned WilmingtonAirport if the DHL hub does close down, the state’s lieutenant-governor Lee Fisher told an Ohiolegislature meeting yesterday, AP reported. Officials are also contacting European governmentsasking about the competitive impact of the proposed DHL-UPS deal in their local markets, Fisheradded.
