US DHL shipping airborne jobs to Florida
DHL is pressing ahead with plans to integrate the operations of both DHL Worldwide Express and Airborne in a move that could affect 1,000 jobs at Seattle-based Airborne. The development highlights DHL’s determination to proceed with its US strategy, despite the ongoing legal challenge posed by rivals UPS and FedEx.
Deutsche Post’s express carrier subsidiary DHL has announced it will permanently locate its US headquarters in southern Florida and will integrate its operations under the umbrella name DHL Express. Although expected, this implies that the name Airborne will disappear and its head office in Seattle will be closed. The consolidation, which will be carried out over the next 12-15 months, will relocate some personnel from Seattle, but it is feared some will lose their jobs. The precise details will be unveiled in the first quarter of next year.
Florida’s location in the eastern time zone was a major factor in the company’s decision to fully locate there. According to DHL spokeswoman Kim Levy, an East Coast headquarters will make working with the company’s Latin America and European operations easier, as they will be located in the same time zone.
DHL bought Airborne last August for $1.1 billion to bolster its position against FedEx and UPS, the two largest US parcel delivery service companies. The acquisition was a logical move for DHL, given that Airborne was the third largest express company at the time, with an estimated 20% market share. The DHL/Airborne relationship was one of two pillars of DHL’s US strategy, the other being its partnership with Astar, previously DHL Airways, which is the subject of FedEx/UPS legal action.
Above all, this move seems to confirm what the CEO of Deutsche Post, Mr. Zumwinkel, stated last month: that DHL would move ahead with US plans regardless of the ongoing legal challenge. Yet it remains to be seen how the company will react if the Department of Transportation rules against it, as this would present the company with serious problems regarding its ownership of both Astar and Airborne.
