XPO closing Palmer distribution center
Move affects 1,000 workers, but company hopes to rehire many of them
XPO Logistics is closing one of its distribution centers in Palmer Township, a move that will affect more than 1,000 workers — though the thirdparty logistics provider hopes to transfer many of them to its other Lehigh Valley facilities.
XPO plans to end its operation at the 628,475-squarefoot warehouse at 1611 Van Buren Road after a customer decided to end its contract. That decision will affect 660 full-time hourly and salaried XPO employees at the site, as well as 412 contingent workers at the facility, XPO said in a Feb. 23 notice to the state to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The notice, posted online Monday, said the job separations will occur over a 14-day period, starting April 26.
“Our customer made a business decision to change supply chain partners,” an XPO spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Morning Call. “We’re working to transfer our colleagues to other XPO locations in the area, including a new facility we’re opening soon. We expect to be offering new positions to all affected employees.”
The spokesperson said the 660 XPO employees will be offered new positions, while the 412 contingent workers are
employed through a third-party vendor.
While the company didn’t provide details about the new facility, XPO has Lehigh Valley locations at 1520 Van Buren Road in Palmer as well as at 3000 AM Drive in Milford Township, Bucks County. Just four months ago, XPO was hiring 1,000 people across its three Lehigh Valleyarea facilities as it geared up for its peak holiday season.
Fluctuation is common with third-party logistics providers, essentially distribution centers for hire that help customers with supply chain needs. In January, XPO closed its facility near Carlisle after a customer ended its contract, which affected 73 employees.
Nancy Dischinat, executive director of Workforce Board Lehigh Valley, said her organization will help any dislocated workers get another job or retool their skillsets. According to a job breakdown accompanying XPO’s notice, 938 — or about 88% — of the affected workers are listed as material handlers.
That’s an in-demand position right now in the Lehigh Valley. Citing state data, Dischinat said material mover is among the fastest-growing occupations in the area. She said there are 119 material handler/warehouse worker job postings in the Lehigh Valley through the state’s CareerLink system, listings that account
for thousands of available jobs at companies such as Weaver Popcorn, B. Braun Medical Inc., Geodis, McKesson, Amazon, FedEx Ground and UPS, to name a few.
“We certainly have a lot of warehouse job openings, that’s for sure,” Dischinat said. “We’re already lining up other employers. We’ll be doing everything we can to get them right back into the labor market.”
XPO, which does not disclose its clients, is the second-largest provider of contract logistics globally, with more than 50,000 customers worldwide. As of Dec. 31, XPO operated 205 million square feet of warehouse space across the globe, with about half of that in North America. The company employs 102,000 people worldwide, with 45% of its workers in North America.
It was less than four years ago when XPO was revealed as the tenant for 1611 Van Buren Road, one of the buildings within Duke Realty’s 33 Logistics Park. The industrial park also hosts a 1.1 million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center and a 1 millionsquare-foot building leased by UPS.
Duke Realty declined to comment Monday.
When the building becomes available, it likely won’t stay that way for long in the booming Lehigh Valley industrial market, where developers rush to snap up available land and race to build on speculation, knowing tenant demand is outpacing supply.
Demand for industrial buildings through the Interstate 78-Interstate 81 corridor has surged amid a pandemic that has stalled momentum in almost every other commercial real estate sector. The demand is mostly coming from third-party logistics providers and e-commerce fulfillment operations, racing to secure more space to keep up with the frenzied pace of online shopping, according to a report in the fall from commercial real estate services firm CBRE.
Strong e-commerce demand helped lead to fourth-quarter revenue of $1.76 billion for XPO’s logistics segment, which was up from $1.56 billion a year earlier. When including the company’s transportation segment, XPO reported total fourth-quarter revenue of about $4.7 billion, compared with $4.14 billion a year earlier.
In December, the company announced plans to spin off its logistics segment as a separate publicly traded company. If the spinoff is completed, the remaining company will be a global provider of less-than-truckload and truck brokerage transportation services.
Shares of XPO closed at $119.66 on Monday, up 2.6% from Friday’s close. A year ago, the company’s stock was trading in the mid-$60 range.
A police officer was justified in using deadly force in the Feb. 9 shooting of a Pennsburg man, the Montgomery County district attorney said Monday.
Trey Bartholomew, 27, was wielding a 23-inch sword and charged at the Upper Perk officer, District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.
The officer, who had twice told Bartholomew to put the weapon down, fired three times, hitting Bartholomew twice, Steele said.
Bartholomew fell, still holding the sword. Officers from Upper Perk and other jurisdictions arrived and assisted in removing the sword from his hand. Officers rendered first aid, but Bartholomew was pronounced dead at the scene.
Steele said analysis of home surveillance video and audio revealed a five-second period between the officer yelling verbal commands and firing the shots.
The officer’s name was not released.
Police were seeking Bartholomew after a family member called 911 to say he had left the house with a sword and threatened to kill anyone who came across him.
“The dispatch reports police receivedwerethatthemanlefthis house to kill anybody he encountered, and when he encountered a police officer, the evidence is that he tried to do just that,” Steele said. “The Upper Perk police officer acted by discharging his firearm to put a stop to a lethal threat. Our investigation determined the
facts of this case supported the use of deadly force.”
The independent investigation of the shooting was conducted by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, as is normal procedure for officer-involved shootings in the county.
Steele said the Upper Perk Police Department and the officer involved cooperated with the investigation.
In Pennsylvania, a law enforcement officer is justified in using deadly force “only when he believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person,” according to state law.
It can also be used to stop the escape of a person “who possesses a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict serious bodily injury unless arrested without delay.”
Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor, who is retiring from the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court at year’s end, unveiled a plan Monday to turn over the reins of the state’s highest judicial body a few months early.
Although he will not depart the bench until December, Saylor said he will transfer the post of chief justice to Justice
Max Baer on April 1 “to ensure an orderly transition.”
Saylor’s retirement is mandatory because the law requires judges to step down at the end of the year in which they turn 75. He has been chief justice since January 2015. He has been a Supreme Court justice for 23 years and has written about 400 main opinions on both criminal and civil issues.
“I am grateful to have led a productive Court, composed of collegial and dedicated jurists, and I appreciate the support I have received from the other justices and court system personnel throughout my tenure,” Saylor said. “I have every confidence that Justice Baer, who has been my friend and colleague for many years, will be an able steward of both our Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Judiciary.”
Baer, a former Allegheny County judge, was elected to the Supreme Court in 2003.
“Chief Justice Saylor has long been lauded for his distinguished service and extraordinary leadership of an independent judiciary,” Baer said. “We have been discussing this transition for some time, and I particularly value the opportunity to have him close at hand as I take on the myriad additional responsibilities of chief justice.
“I hope to follow his example of strong, collaborative, and effective leadership during the remainder of my time on the court,” Baer said.