DHL Express moving to northern Kentucky airport

DHL Express said it has decided to move US hub operations for its international business to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

DHL Express said it has decided to move US hub operations for its international business to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

On April 17, company spokesman Jonathan Baker confirmed the move, after word leaked out following an announcement to employees at Wilmington’s DHL Air Park.

DHL will reactivate its automated sorting facility at the northern Kentucky airport and finish the move by mid- to late summer. DHL had used the Kentucky facility from 1983 until its move to Ohio in 2005.

DHL’s pullout from Wilmington had been expected. It will eliminate about 8,000 jobs from the southwest Ohio community of 12,000 residents. Wilmington has drawn national attention as an example of the economic struggles of small US communities during the recession.

Baker said DHL already has 200 employees in northern Kentucky and expects to add some 180 full-time positions and 650 part-time jobs there. He said all current and former Wilmington Air Park employees are encouraged to apply for jobs at the airport in Hebron, more than 50 miles southwest of Wilmington.

DHL said in a statement that the move “will be more cost-effective for handling the company’s international express shipping volumes, and is expected to improve DHL’s long-term financial position.”