FedEx has announced the closure of four facilities in North and South Carolina on September 3, impacting 310 employees, as revealed in Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices. The company is shutting down three Ship Centers in West Columbia, Florence, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, along with another in Conover, North Carolina. This move is part of FedEx’s Network 2.0 initiative aimed at consolidating its Express and Ground networks to streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase efficiency.
In a statement to The Sun News, David Westerlick with FedEx media relations noted that certain team members will be offered opportunities at other nearby locations. “Decisions of this nature are never made lightly, and are the result of much thought and consideration for the needs of our business,” he said. “Affected team members were notified several months before any changes take place, and are receiving assistance with finding other employment opportunities within the company, including additional support options like relocation assistance or severance where applicable.”
The Conover closure will specifically impact 66 couriers, though some employees will be relocated to other sites. Similar closures in Colorado, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi over the past year have also predominantly affected courier employees.
In a recent earnings call, FedEx Executive Vice President and CFO John Dietrich stated that the company has reduced its workforce by nearly 22,000 over the past year. The layoffs are not confined to the U.S., with up to 2,000 back-office and commercial job cuts planned in Europe.
The layoffs in Myrtle Beach and Florence alone will affect approximately 100 employees.