Mass layoffs continue across freight-related companies in the U.S. and Canada.
There were 7,173 job cuts recently announced by companies in California, Texas, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Quebec.
It is the fifth wave of layoffs across the nation’s supply chain industry since early October, with a total of 16,919 workers losing their jobs, according to firms filing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices.
Over the past eight weeks, companies announcing job cuts or facility closures include Amazon, GXO, UPS, DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, Advance Auto Parts, Great Dane, Ryder, True Value Co., CJ Logistics America, PepsiCo, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling LLC, Hunt & Sons LLC, Americold Logistics, Green Thumb Produce Inc., 3E Logistics NJ Inc., Genuine Parts Co., Trademango Solutions, FedEx, Russ Davis Wholesale, Mountain Valley Express LLC, McLane Foodservice Distribution and Orora Packaging Solutions.
More recent cuts have been announced by the following companies.
Amazon
E-commerce giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced Jan. 22 it is closing its seven fulfillment centers across the Canadian province of Quebec and cutting about 2,000 jobs, according to the CBC.
The closure and layoffs are scheduled to be completed by the end of March.
After Amazon said it would close its Quebec operations, more than 2,500 other people employed by Amazon delivery service partners have lost their jobs.
Quebec’s Labour Ministry has received notices of mass layoffs from 23 logistics and transport companies, bringing the total number of Amazon-related layoffs to 4,543, according to figures compiled by Radio-Canada.
Amazon said customer savings were the reason for the mass layoffs and that it would revert to using subcontractors to handle deliveries across Quebec.
Kohl’s
Retail chain Kohl’s Corp. said it is closing a distribution warehouse in San Bernardino, California, and eliminating 690 jobs as part of its companywide reorganization.
Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) did not provide a reason for the closure and layoffs in a WARN notice it filed with the state. The closure will be finalized by March 28.
Jen Johnson, Kohl’s senior vice president of corporate communications, told Retail Dive the company is reducing its workforce and closing 27 underperforming stores to “support Kohl’s ongoing actions to increase efficiencies and improve profitability for the long-term health and benefit of the business.”
Kohl’s, founded in 1962, is based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The company has over 96,000 employees and 1,700 stores in the U.S.
Related: More than 4,500 freight-related layoffs slated for firms nationwide
Del Monte Foods
Del Monte Foods Inc. is closing a tomato production site and cannery in Hanford, California, and laying off 378 workers.
Layoffs will begin at the end of March. Some of the workers are represented by Teamsters Local 948.
The company did not provide a reason for the facility’s closure in its state filing.
Allied Aviation Fueling
Dallas-based Allied Aviation Fueling said it will lay off 362 employees by March 31 due to the loss of a contract, according to state filings.
“The lay-offs were necessitated by the unforeseen and unsuspected discontinuance of Allied’s contract for the provision of services at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and the resulting loss of work,” the company said.
Some of the affected employees are represented by the Transportation Workers Union of America.
Allied Aviation Fueling is the largest domestically owned provider of fueling services to the commercial aviation industry, according to its website. Allied Aviation is the fueling service provider at 26 major airports.
Bargain Hunt Stores
Bargain Hunt Stores is closing a distribution and storage facility in Nashville, Tennessee, and laying off 294 workers.
The company did not provide a reason for the facility’s closure in a WARN notice it filed with the state. The closure will be finalized by March 14.
The Nashville-based retail chain has 91 stores across 10 states.
ManpowerGroup US Inc.
Staffing agency ManpowerGroup US Inc. will lay off 173 employees by March 28 when it ceases operations at the HelloFresh distribution facility in Irving, Texas, according to a WARN notice.
The layoffs are related to a contract termination.
Berlin-based HelloFresh is an online provider of ready-made meal kits that are delivered to customers’ homes.
Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup is one of the largest staffing firms in the world.
Greif Inc.
Packaging company Greif (NYSE: GEF) is closing facilities in Austell, Georgia, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, that will result in the elimination of 140 jobs.
The layoffs are aimed at boost profitability, the company said.
“These strategic actions will refine our participation in the market and help us maximize the profitability of our mill network and our overall business portfolio,” President and CEO Ole Rosgaard says in a news release.
Delaware, Ohio-based Grief has over 14,000 employees across 250 facilities in 37 countries.
Fila
Shoe and apparel maker Fila plans to lay off 130 workers at the company’s headquarters and warehouse facility in Curtis Bay and Towson, Maryland, according to notices filed with the state.
The layoffs will be finalized by March 30.
In November, the company told regulators in South Korea it planned to downsize operations in North America as part of cost-cutting measures, according to Footwear News.
Fila is a South Korean-owned global athletic leisure brand headquartered in Seoul.
Republic National Distributing Co.
Republic National Distributing Co., a wholesale beverage alcohol distributor, is laying off 120 people at two facilities in California.
The layoffs include 60 employees from a facility in Tustin and 60 employees from another location in Pleasanton.
“Changing business needs require us to reduce our workforce at the facility permanently,” the company said in its WARN notice for each facility.
Grand Prairie, Texas-based Republic National Distributing Co. is one of the country’s largest wine and spirits wholesalers.
Orbis Corp.
Orbis, which makes reusable packaging solutions, said it is closing a facility and laying off 109 workers in Menasha, Wisconsin.
The closure and layoffs will be finalized by March 15, according to a state notice.
The company is moving production from the Menasha facility to a new plant in Greenville, Texas.
Orbis is based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The company has more than 3,300 employees and almost 50 locations throughout North America and Europe.
Packaging Corp. of America
Packaging Corp. of America said it will close a corrugated products plant in East Point, Georgia, eliminating 103 employees.
The closure and layoffs are expected to be finalized by March, according to state filings.
Packaging Corp. of America can serve customers more effectively and efficiently by moving the capacity from the East Point facility to other locations, the company told Packaging Dive.
Scentsy
Candle company Scentsy is closing its shipping and distributing facility and laying off 94 employees in Coppell, Texas.
The layoffs will be finalized by March 10. The company did not provide a reason for the facility’s closure in its state WARN notice.
Scentsy, founded in 2004, is based in Meridian, Mississippi. The company has over 1,000 employees, along with distribution centers in South Carolina, Mexico, Europe and Australia.
Lineage
Cold storage warehouse operator Lineage Inc. (NASDAQ: LINE) said it is closing a warehouse and laying off 37 workers from a facility in Federalsburg, Maryland.
The closure will be finalized by March 8, according to state filings.
Novi, Michigan-based Lineage is one of the world’s largest real estate investment trusts for temperature-controlled warehouses.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported Lineage is implementing job cuts amid a slowdown in demand for cold-storage space.
Lytx
Lytx, a provider of telematics and in-cab camera systems, recently conducted layoffs across its locations in the U.S. and Europe.
It’s unclear how many jobs the company is eliminatiing. The San Diego-based company has not filed any WARN notices in the U.S. but confirmed to FreightWaves that job reductions have occurred.
“For over 26 years, Lytx has been focused on whatever it takes to ensure every journey ends with a safe return. We remain committed to that vision and are continuously improving to deliver the best possible experience for our customers. As part of this commitment, we are leaning into our innovation by shifting some investment from Sales and Marketing to Product and streamlining certain areas of our corporate service functions. This shift led to the elimination of certain positions across the company, while new positions were created to align with our strategic direction. We are grateful for the hard work, talent, and commitment our employees demonstrate every day. We are not disclosing the number of people affected. However, we can say that we are able to redeploy numerous of the affected people into new positions,” Lytx said in an email to FreightWaves.