DHL laying off 105 in Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE - Package-delivery giant DHL is laying off 105 employees, or 11 percent, of its Scottsdale Airpark data center worforce as part of the global company's pullback from the U.S. market.

DHL had employed 925 people at the Scottsdale center and began reducing that number in the past few weeks to 820 employees, spokesman Robert Mintz said. The high-tech center, which opened in 2002, is one of a handful nationwide that monitor the movement of DHL customers' packages worldwide.

"The workforce reduction is part of a broader strategy to lower general and administrative costs in light of the current economic climate and market demands," Mintz said. Demand for the center's information-technology services also fell as a result of the U.S. restructuring, he said.

DHL's parent company, Deutsche Post World Net of Bonn, Germany, announced in late May that it would restructure its money-losing U.S. Express business. Plans include contracting with rival United Parcel Service Inc. to handle air shipments within North America, consolidating small sorting facilities and reducing service in remote areas.

A deal to outsource the technology centers to Hewlett-Packard Co. fell through in late July, in part because DHL determined the risks outweighed the benefits, InformationWeek magazine reported.

DHL, known for its bright yellow-and-red delivery vehicles, has struggled to compete with UPS and FedEx Corp., which hold the majority of the U.S. package-delivery market.

Employees received 60 days' notice of the layoffs and will receive severance payments and transition assistance, DHL said. Mintz said the Scottsdale center would continue to serve the DHL network going forward.

DHL also reported to the Arizona Department of Economic Security in late June that it would lay off 17 drivers at its express parcel delivery center in Prescott, the state agency said. DHL has not reported other layoffs, DES said.