Family Dollar to close Matthews distribution center, lay off nearly 375 workers
More than 370 people will lose their jobs, as Family Dollar closes its distribution center in Matthews. It’s the second time the discount retailer has laid workers off in the Charlotte suburb since 2018.
And the center’s closure ends Family Dollar’s distribution operations in the state where it sprang to life nearly 70 years ago in Charlotte in 1959. Once the Matthews distribution center closes, the only presence Family Dollar will have left in the region is its retail stores, which stand at 39 stores in Charlotte, according to the store’s website.
Virginia-based Family Dollar plans to permanently close the center at 10401 Monroe Road by August, according to an N.C. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) report filed on March 16. The state disclosed the report on Wednesday. Such notices are required by federal law during mass layoffs.
All 373 workers will be laid off in two rounds, starting May 18 and ending Aug. 12, according to the report. The workers are being offered severance packages, the report noted.
Family Dollar job losses in the Charlotte region
The layoffs are also another blow to Family Dollar workers in Matthews.
Since Family Dollar was sold to Dollar Tree in 2015, more than 1,600 jobs have been either cut or relocated, including this round of layoffs.
The last layoffs were in 2018 when Dollar Tree closed Family Dollar’s Matthews headquarter effecting 900 jobs. At the time, it was the largest job loss the Charlotte metro area faced in the last decade, according to previous filings with the North Carolina Commerce Department.
About Family Dollar
Family Dollar was founded in 1959 by Leon Levine at the age of 21 with a $6,000 loan to open the first store on Central Avenue in Charlotte
The Matthews-based retailer grew to more than 8,000 stores and 10 distribution centers before the company was sold in 2015 for $9 billion to Chesapeake, Virginia,-based Dollar Tree. Howard Levine, son of the founder, stepped down as CEO in early 2016, ending nearly five decades of family leadership.
The acquisition created a combined company with over $19 billion in annual sales and more than 13,000 stores. But the deal shifted Family Dollar’s operations in Matthews, leading to numerous layoffs.
In 2016, about 370 workers were laid off at the Family Dollar headquarters in Matthews.
Two years later, Dollar Tree closed that headquarters and consolidated all operations in Chesapeake, Virginia. The move eliminated about 200 jobs and another 700 employees were offered relocation opportunities. But only 30% of employees, or 210 workers, accepted the offering.
Last year, Dollar Tree sold Family Dollar to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management, two private equity firms, for about $1 billion. For Dollar Tree it was a lost of $18 billion from when it purchased Family Dollar a decade ago.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 1:04 PM.
