Big shipping company closes site between Charlotte + Raleigh, laying off over 80
One of the world’s largest shipping companies is closing a facility between Charlotte and Raleigh in Forsyth County and laying off over 80 people.
DHL Supply Chain, which is part of the DHL Group logistics company, will close its warehouse in Rural Hall by Dec. 31, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) report filed with the state on June 6. Such notices are required by federal law during mass layoffs.
Rural Hall is about 95 miles north of Charlotte near Winston-Salem.
With the closure, 81 people will be laid off starting Aug. 5 through the end of the year, according to the report. It’s unclear why DHL is shuttering the warehouse. A reason wasn’t given in the WARN report nor did DHL say why it was closing the site.
A DHL representative said the company was working with impacted employees to find other opportunities at the company to continue their careers.
The facility was the former home of Inmar Supply Chain Solutions, a division of Inmar Intelligence and another provider of retail e-commerce.
DHL acquired the division from Inmar last year, according to anews release from DHL. The e-commerce giant acquired 14 return centers and 800 associates through the sale. The sale details were not disclosed.
Recent layoffs around the Charlotte area
It’s not uncommon for businesses to let go of workers after an acquisition.
Last week, Downlite International, which produces down, feather and synthetic bedding products, said it would close its facility in Monroe by Aug. 14. The closure will lead to 113 layoffs. In March, several divisions of Downlite were purchased by Live Comfortably, one of the largest utility bedding manufacturers in the U.S.
Downlite noted that the Monroe closure was due to the sale.
Republic National Distributing Company, one of the nation’s largest alcohol distributors, is in a similar situation. The distributor is restructuring its operations and selling off some assets. With that transition, Republic National plans to close sites in Charlotte and Raleigh, laying off 39 and 14 people, respectively.
About DHL
DHL Supply Chain is part of the larger American-founded DHL Group logistics company. DHL Supply Chain has over 520 warehouses and 52,000 workers in North America, according to the news release.
DHL has several sites in the Charlotte region, including DHL Supply Chain at 8924 Pioneer Ave. in Charlotte
DHL eCommerce, another division of DHL Group, relocated its operations from Raleigh to Concord in 2024. The facility, which is 30 minutes from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, added 150 jobs to Concord.
