Ohio Distribution Center Lays Off Dozens Following Express Bankruptcy

Express is continuing to downsize operations months after filing for Chapter 11.

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Bath and Body Works Logistics Services, LLC—which provides shipping services for Express—filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice advising that it would be permanently reducing operations at its Columbus, Ohio, distribution center (DC) days after the women’s wear brand was plucked from the jaws of bankruptcy through an acquisition by Phoenix Retail .

“On April 22, 2024, Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced its plan to close 100 stores. Since that time Express’s volume has remained low and unpredictable,” the June 18 letter said. “Therefore, the Company needs to permanently reduce its operations,” it added. The layoff of 85 workers took place on June 22.

According to Lia Lincoln-Smith, the letter’s signatory and vice president of human relations for Bath and Body Works, impacted employees would be offered the opportunity to apply for transfer to other roles within the company. Those that opted not to pursue future employment with the group would be provided severance packages, she wrote.

Express closed on a $174-million deal to exit Chapter 11 on June 24. New owner Phoenix Retail—a joint venture between brand acquisition and management firm WHP Global and mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties—has said it plans to retain 7,000 jobs and 450 stores while winding down operations on dozens of doors across the country.

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Express is far from the only retailer shrinking its operational footprint due to poor performance.

Earlier this spring, Macy’s announced that it planned to consolidate its logistics and distribution network as a part of its goal to slash $100 million in expenses from its 2024 fiscal budget. Along with closing an unspecified number of its 25 fulfillment centers, the heritage department store chain said it would close 150 retail doors over the course of the next three years.

And in May, workwear and uniforms maker Careismatic Brands , which owns the licensing rights to Cherokee medical apparel and Dickies scrubs and labcoats, permanently laid off 404 workers as it shuttered two DCs in Dallas, Tex. in a continuation of consolidation efforts that began in 2023.

It’s not all doom and gloom for apparel-sector logistics, though. Other national retailers are shoveling more capital into building out infrastructure, including Ross , which announced in May that it would invest $450 million in a new North Carolina DC. State Governor Roy Cooper said the 1.7-million-square-foot warehouse would create 852 jobs.

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