Just announced this morning....its official
Deutsche Post to cut 9,500 jobs in US
By GEORGE FREY
,
AP
posted: 8 MINUTES AGO
FRANKFURT, Germany -Deutsche Post AG will close all of its DHL Express service centers, cut 9,500 jobs in the United States and eliminate U.S.-only domestic express shipping by land and air, the company said Monday, citing heavy losses and fierce competition.
The Bonn-based company said the new round of cuts are on top of another 5,400 job cuts it already announced and blamed heavy losses at the unit, which competes with rivals UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp.
Deutsche Post investors cheered the decision, sending the company's shares up 7 percent to 10 euros ($12.90) in Frankfurt trading.
The cuts are part of a wider plan to curtail operations in the U.S., including domestic ground and delivery services though its international shipping to and from the U.S. would continue. The Express unit currently employs some 18,000 workers.
However, Deutsche Post said the U.S. remained a key market and that its other operations there, including freight and global mail and other logistics, won't be affected by the closings.
Deutsche Post's U.S. logistics unit employs more than 25,000 workers in the U.S.
Part of the plan calls for the halt to domestic shipping by Jan. 30, the company said after it closes all of its ground hubs and reduces the number of service centers from 412 to 103 across the U.S.
At a press conference, company officials, including chief financial officer John Allan said the job cuts and location closures would be "clear across the country," without being more specific.
"The retained U.S. international Express network with a total of 3,000 to 4,000 employees will be tailored to the needs of the group's international Express service customers," the company said in a statement. "All international shipments into the U.S. will still be delivered, while 99 percent of the outbound shipments will be picked up."
Now are trip paks considered part of the global mail system???