ABx air
Stunned employees ponder future
Plan to hire UPS to handle U.S. cargo flying will cost about 6,000 jobs
> Related: Turner: DHL would consider public donation of Wilmington property
> Would a donation like this ease the pain?
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
WILMINGTON — Kathy Green said she has worked as a cargo sorter and a telecommunications supervisor since 1991 for the cargo airline now known as ABX Air Inc., and needs the job to pay a $900-a-month mortgage on her home near Hillsboro.
Green said she and fellow ABX Air employees were stunned by DHL's announcement May 28 that it will hire United Parcel Service to handle all of DHL's U.S. cargo flying, which would wipe out all or most of the ABX jobs — about 6,000 positions — at the Wilmington freight hub.
"This is a family. ABX Air is a family," Green said Monday, June 30, after she and other ABX employees met privately with U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville. She noted that some families have two or more members working at the DHL-owned freight hub.
"We want them to succeed," Green said of DHL, which lost $900 million on its U.S. operations last year and projects a $1 billion loss this year without a cost-cutting agreement with UPS. "We want them to let us help them succeed."
Keith and Sherry Barrett, of New Vienna, both work for ABX Air, she for 22 years and he for 21. They support four children. The Barretts were among a crowd that attended U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown's meeting with community members Monday to discuss efforts to try to save the Wilmington jobs.
Congress is working with Ohio officials to examine whether a DHL-UPS agreement would violate federal antitrust law by reducing competition in the U.S. express delivery market, said Brown, D-Ohio. DHL said it hopes to conclude a contract with UPS within three months.
ABX Air provides benefits for full- and part-time employees, which boosts its status as the biggest employer in Clinton County and neighboring counties, Sherry Barrett said.
She said she knew of no other nearby employer that could provide similar jobs for the couple if their ABX positions are eliminated. "Nothing," she said.
John Graber, president of ABX Air, which operates the Wilmington hub and provides cargo sorting and flying services for DHL, said his company wants to propose a cost-cutting plan as an alternative to the UPS proposal, but that DHL's parent company, the German postal agency Deutsche Post, won't listen. State officials who have spoken with Deutsche Post's senior management said the German company is committed to the deal with UPS and will not reconsider.
High fuel prices and air network costs have been major contributors to DHL's losses, DHL said Monday.
DHL said its restructuring plan, together with reducing DHL's U.S. delivery network, will "help ensure continued employment for tens of thousands of people across the country."
Investor briefing
Management of Air Transport Services Group Inc., owner of ABX Air, plans to brief investors during a conference call today about the status of the company's imperiled business relationship with DHL.
