Appel states DHL has to shut down Ohio facility

Deutsche Post World Net CEO Frank Appel has rejected growing US political criticism of DHL’s plans to close its air hub at Wilmington, Ohio, with the likely loss of some 8,000 jobs, and to switch airlift operations to rival UPS.
The plans have drawn criticism from US presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, the region’s members of Congress and local politicians. The US Congress plans two hearings on the proposed DHL-UPS deal in September.
DHL Express had to shut the hub as part of its restructuring programme in order to reduce its heavy US losses, Appel told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview, echoing his similar comments at the company’s recent half-year financial press conference.
The DPWN chief again stressed that UPS would remain a competitor to DHL despite supplying a service, and pointed out that a similar deal between the USPS and FedEx had been approved, despite being much larger in volume.
Appel added that the company was ready to set up a support programme for affected employees and the region to help people find new jobs, but he had no plans to travel to the USA, as Republican candidate John McCain had proposed.

Deutsche Post World Net CEO Frank Appel has rejected growing US political criticism of DHL’s plans to close its air hub at Wilmington, Ohio, with the likely loss of some 8,000 jobs, and to switch airlift operations to rival UPS.
The plans have drawn criticism from US presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, the region’s members of Congress and local politicians. The US Congress plans two hearings on the proposed DHL-UPS deal in September.
DHL Express had to shut the hub as part of its restructuring programme in order to reduce its heavy US losses, Appel told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview, echoing his similar comments at the company’s recent half-year financial press conference.
“There is no real alternative. Otherwise we would endanger our entire express business in the USA, and at the end of the day far more jobs would be threatened,” Appel declared. DHL Express USA is currently losing about $5 million a day, he pointed out.
Under the restructuring plan, DHL Express will transfer the existing sub-contracted airlift operations from Wilmington-based ABX Air and Astar to UPS under a ten-year, $1 billion-a-year contract, and downsize its ground network in remote areas. It aims to reduce this year’s expected $1.3 billion loss to about $300 million in 2011.
“Any delay of the restructuring plan could have far-reaching consequences and in the worst case could lead to even more dramatic cuts,” Appel said. “Politicians should think about that when they set dates for hearings or demand a potentially lengthy anti-trust investigation.”
The DPWN chief again stressed that UPS would remain a competitor to DHL despite supplying a service, and pointed out that a similar deal between the USPS and FedEx had been approved, despite being much larger in volume.
Appel added that the company was ready to set up a support programme for affected employees and the region to help people find new jobs, but he had no plans to travel to the USA, as Republican candidate John McCain had proposed.