Deutsche Post Announces Mass Layoffs at US Subsidiary:DHL

[and-justice-for-all]

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3778378,00.html

Deutsche Post is set to cull 9,500 jobs from its loss-making DHL express mail service in the US, the logistics giant announced Monday. That's on top of another 4,500 job cuts that had already been announced.

The move is part of Post's attempted restructuring of DHL which will also involve shutting down the domestic air and ground operations of the US subsidiary.

DHL, which competes with rivals UPS and FedEx, has been a perennial loss-maker for Deutsche Post since former Post chief Klaus Zumwinkel, who was recently charged with tax fraud, decided to push into the US market.

The Bonn-based company had already announced it would cut 4,500 jobs, a decision likely to affect drivers, shipping clerks and warehouse workers.

The streamlining of DHL would cost about $3.9 billion (three billion euros), Post said in a statement, adding that operating costs at DHL's express unit would drop from $5.4 billion to less than one billion dollars. The express unit employs around 18,000 people.

The group "will focus its express business in the US on its core international competencies and exit the domestic air and ground express service in the country by the end of January," the statement said.

"The international express offering in the US will be maintained on today's levels and the region will remain an integral part of DHL's global Express network," it added.

Deutsche Post, owned 31 percent by the German government, said it would likely see a net loss for 2008.

But the logistics giant said its nine-month core earnings had gained 1.3 percent to 1.6 billion euros, on sales that rose by 2.3 percent to 40.5 billion euros.

The price of shares in the group jumped by 8.82 percent to 10.18 euros in midday trading, while the DAX index of leading shares had gained 3.17 percent overall.

[Sinistrous]

1. I always winced when I saw that my medications were being shipped via DHL.

Always took longer than via UPS or USPS. DHL would fly them all over the country and then dump them off at a post office about 60 miles form my house.

I have great sympathy for the folks losing their jobs, but this company gave really marginal service.

[acmavm]

2. My company has already switched to FedEx. I myself think

we should switch to UPS because they're union. But they're more expensive and thanks to the republican administration who have destroyed EVERY FUCKING THING THEY'VE TOUCHED (on purpose in my estimation), we have to cut costs everywhere we can. Except in corporate exec's salaries, of course.

edit: I just thought about the tone of my first sentence and I took it out. It was cavalier and uncalled for. I typed 'who cares'? And that was wrong because a lot of people in this country will suddenly be unemployed. And that is something we should all care about. I'm ashamed that I posted that.