DHL Supply Chain and Amazon Delivery Partner Each Disclose Plans to Shutter Pennsylvania Facilities

Two logistics companies, one large and one small, plan to shutter facilities in Pennsylvania before the year ends.

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State records filed as a requirement of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act ( WARN Act ) show FMC Logistics LLC will close the doors on its Quakertown, Penn., warehouse, situated nearly 50 miles outside of Philadelphia, on October 29. According to the company’s website, it delivers for Amazon and has a team of more than 40 drivers. The WARN filing indicates 121 people will lose their jobs because of the facility closure.

Amazon confirmed FMC Logistics had been part of its Delivery Service Partners (DSP) program , which is designed to link independent businesses with the e-commerce behemoth for faster package delivery, particularly in rural areas. Amazon said FMC Logistics will not be delivering packages for the company as of next month. Despite the fact that the drivers affected by the closure were FMC employees, not Amazon employees, a spokesperson said the e-commerce behemoth plans to look for other DSPs to pair FMC’s drivers with upon the closure.

Amazon did not disclose whether it terminated the contract with FMC or whether FMC removed itself from the program. According to Amazon’s website, it still seeks DSPs in various locations throughout Pennsylvania, including Quakertown and Philadelphia.

This is not the first company to shut its doors after being part of the DSP. Earlier this year, several delivery companies in Northern California filed WARN notices indicating they would close after unsuccessful runs with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners program, per GeekWire. The companies said they were losing money and that Amazon’s demands had become too great to keep up with. Amazon has faced scrutiny from the Teamsters union and a group of U.S. senators about alleged worker mistreatment in the program.

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FMC did not return Sourcing Journal’s requests for comment on its experience working with Amazon or the reason for the warehouse closure.

Amazon is not the only major logistics player seeing its logistics prowess slim out in Pennsylvania in the coming months.

DHL Supply Chain filed a WARN notice that states it plans to close its Elizabethtown, Penn., warehouse on November 10. The closure will affect 268 of the company’s employees, but a spokesperson said the company will work to place those impacted in other facilities.

“DHL Supply Chain was recently informed of a decision by one of our customers to restructure its distribution channels. As a result, the warehouse facility that supports their operations will ramp down operations through the end of the year,” the spokesperson told Sourcing Journal via email. “ In the coming weeks, we will work with our associates to determine opportunities to continue their career as valued team members of DHL Supply Chain.”

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