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United Parcel Services (UPS) has notified the Department of Labor (DOL) that it will close a distribution warehouse facility in Baltimore County, resulting in 540 job cuts.
UPS filed a Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) on June 20.
Employers with 100 or more employees must file a WARN under US labor law to give workers 60 calendar days’ notice of any closings and mass layoffs.
The facility will close on August 23.
In a statement released to the media, UPS said it is only temporarily closing the warehouse for “modernization,” and will try to minimize the scope of layoffs where possible.
“Our employees are extremely important to us, and we are working to place as many employees as possible in other positions at our onsite temporary hub or in nearby facilities,” the statement read.
“We remain committed to working with them throughout this transition and providing support.”
UPS expects the facility to be closed for around 18 months, with a reopening planned for late 2025.
“This temporary closure won’t impact customer service and we have plans in place to continue servicing the Baltimore community,” the statement concluded.
The closure is a part of the shipping company’s plans to shutter around 200 facilities in a five-year modernization project.
Warehouse closures follow 12,000 job cut announcement
The layoffs follow an announcement from CEO Carol Tomé in January that UPS planned to cut 12,000 job cuts in 2024 after a “difficult and disappointing year.”
Tomé hoped to save $1billion in 2024 through the job cuts, which were primarily made to its management staff and contractors.
The jobs will not be replaced as company performance improves. Brian Newman, Chief Financial Officer, described the cuts in January as a “change in the way we work."
118 employees were laid off from the soon-to-be-shuttered Baltimore facility in March, reportedly due to low volume demand.
Other sites, including over 15 distribution centers in Pennsylvania, have already been closed.
Companies including Walgreens and Hooters have similarly closed locations in recent weeks, sparking conversation about how employers can best support employees during closures.
Like UPS, the pharmaceutical giant promised to offer the "vast majority" of employees a role at another site.
Hooters, meanwhile, promised its staff would be a "priority" but affected employees claimed they had heard no communication or support from the company, and were blind-sided when turning up to do a shift at a store that had been closed overnight.
UPS' WARN notification and pledge to employees seemingly shows it will attempt to minimize job cuts but where they are necessary will give workers as much notice as possible.
