Deutsche Post unfazed by US presidential candidate concern over DHL cuts
Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) shook off criticism by US presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain of the planned closure of DHL’s air hub at Wilmington, Ohio, and stressed it is on track with the US restructuring measures.
On Tuesday (29th July), Obama and McCain both took up the issue of the planned Wilmington closure, with the expected loss of some 8,000 jobs at DHL and sub-contractors ABX Air and Astar Air Cargo. They each called for an investigation into potential anti-trust issues resulting from the planned DHL-UPS airlift deal, and spoke out in favour of government support for workers who lost their jobs.
Speaking at company press conference on its half-year financial results, DPWN CEO Frank Appel said he was “sorry” about the job losses at Wilmington but stressed the cuts were necessary in view of the likely USD 1.3 billion loss at DHL Express USA this year and to strengthen DPWN as a whole. “If we did not do this, then we would endanger even more jobs,” he declared.
In response to questions, Appel said DPWN had held talks with various US officials for some time and commented that the statements of the two presidential candidates were “moderate” and showed they understood DHL’s problems.
Due to DHL’s heavy US losses, the situation was not comparable with that of Nokia, which was forced to pay back subsidies in Germany after announcing the closure of a production site, he said. DHL Express had received “low” subsidies at Wilmington but did not expect to have to pay them back.
Appel also stressed that the measures to restructure DHL Express USA were on track despite deteriorating market conditions and the weakening US economic environment. The first DHL-contracted aircraft had been taken out of service, the first DHL ground stations closed and other cost reduction measures had been implemented, he said.
Negotiations with UPS over the planned North America domestic uplift agreement were making progress and an agreement was expected “shortly”, he added. The agreement only covered DHL’s domestic US business and therefore would not impact on its European air hub at Leipzig, he said. Lufthansa Cargo currently operates dedicated flights from Leipzig to Wilmington for DHL Express under a joint venture which is due to expire next year. DHL plans to replace these services with own flights using a new fleet of B767 freighters.
