DaytonDailyNews.com

WILMINGTON — Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher said Monday, Nov. 10, he was consulting with Ohio's congressional delegation about the state's effort to obtain a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to pay for job retraining and related needs of workers who lose their jobs at the DHL hub.

The state and Wilmington will work with DHL on how it could offset the economic impact, including possibly donating the airport to the state and community, Fisher said. DHL has said it is willing to discuss a possible donation of the airport.

"We have said that we are more than willing to do that," John Mullen, global chief executive officer for DHL Express, told reporters Monday afternoon. "We have been working on various mitigation efforts with the state of Ohio."

Mullen said his company has exceeded by "several hundred million dollars" the amount it was contractually obligated to provide for employees' severance pay. Those benefits will be extended to employees of the ground freight operation at Wilmington that now also will be closed, Mullen said.

While elected officials looked for ways to soften the impact of DHL's anticipated cuts, residents and merchants in Wilmington reacted to news that thousands of jobs could be eliminated at DHL's local operations after Jan. 30.

Teresa Rice, owner of Downtown Hair Etc., said she already had seen a drop in walk-in customers and fewer people wanting manicures and pedicures since May, when DHL announced plans to hire United Parcel Service to handle DHL's air cargo sorting and flying.

She expects that trend to accelerate as DHL shrinks its operations early next year, she said. She also expects the changes to manifest through higher foreclosures and small business closures, she said.

"I think we will all feel the effects of it," she said. "It's going to be tough on Wilmington."

Marla Stewart, owner of Books N More, said having a date removes some of the uncertainty that has gripped the city since May and gives people time to look for other work.

But Stewart worries more about her daughter, who owns Jen's Deli, located inside the bookstore. The deli gets about one third of its business from the airpark and the businesses located around it, Stewart said. She also worries about the families who will be left without work as DHL scales down its workforce, she said.

Charlotte Fahrer said the city has rebounded from tough challenges before, such as when the U.S. military closed its Wilmington base, which eventually was redeveloped into an airpark for commercial freight hauler, Airborne Express.

"There's always been an angel out there that sits on Wilmington's shoulder," Fahrer said.