Oh no! German mail carrier DHL may consolidate their North American air delivery service with UPS. Should that occur, the DHL North American hub, located in Wilmington, Ohio, will be closed. Some 10,000 jobs would be lost!
The issue has become a point of contention between the US and Germany. A possible anti-trust suit may be brought by the US against DHL. Both presidential candidates have voiced their concern over the merger. The State of Ohio and representatives of Ohio are particularly disconcerted. Says Democratic Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown:
"They [Wilmington] laid out the welcome mat for DHL by providing more than $400 million in incentives.Workers and their families rightfully feel betrayed by the callous decision made by Deutsche Post. This is a foreign company that frankly hasn't played it straight with us."
Hopefully, this talk will scare DHL from finalizing the deal with UPS. But even if the deal is struck down, what will become of the DHL plant in Wilmington? As the hub of its North American operations, perhaps it is too important to shut down without a way to maintain its share of the US/Canadian markets. Time will tell just how valuable the Wilmington hub truly is.
Read Der Spiegel International's article DHL Hub Closure? by Mark Pitzke.
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