According to company announcements, DHL plans to eliminate 9,500 US jobs outright as it discontinues domestic-only air and ground deliveries within the US, shutting down all ground hubs in the country as well as 309 of its 412 stations.

These layoffs come on top of the 5,400 workers cut from DHL’s US operations in May. The latest round will bring the total number of layoffs to 16,000 in the last six months.

After the cuts, the German-based company will employ less than 4,000 to handle its international shipping to and from the US.

The social and economic impact of these job losses will be particularly devastating to Wilmington, Ohio, where DHL’s largest distributing facility is located, and the 12,000 inhabitants of this small town. According to the company, an estimated 3,500 DHL workers will lose their jobs at the Wilmington facility between now and January 31. However, the number of area residents likely to lose their jobs is far higher.

Reflecting the former economic health of the town, Wilmington was listed in 1995 as one of America’s “finest small towns” in “The 100 Best Small Towns in America,” a popular guidebook by Norm Crampton. Now it is threatened with extinction.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2008/nov2008/dhli-n21.shtml