DLI sent a WARN notice dated March 26 to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services saying it would permanently cease operating its warehouse and surface-based transportation operations.
Andrew Ritten, the company’s vice president, general counsel and secretary, said the closing has nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic.
He told this news outlet that Dedicated Logistics Inc. operates a “crossdock” in Hamilton, a location that receives replacement auto parts from General Motors, DLI’s customer for the Hamilton location.
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The Hamilton crossdock only services GM and no other DLI customer, he said. GM operates a spare parts distribution center, or PDC, in West Chester Twp.
“At the Hamilton crossdock, DLI receives parts from the PDC and organizes them for delivery to GM dealerships within a radius of approximately 500 miles from Hamilton,” Ritten said. “There are maybe 40 to 50 pre-established delivery routes originating from the Hamilton crossdock.”
Each route’s parts deliveries are loaded within a trailer and each route is handled by one driver or in some instances a combination of two drivers depending on the distance, he said. Each route delivers the spare parts to “maybe 8 to 15 dealerships along its route.”
GM’s contracts for this type of work last for a defined period of time, usually five years, Ritten said. When the contracts are up for renewal, GM conducts a bid process. Following the bid process, GM decides whether the incumbent carrier will continue the work or whether a new carrier will be chosen for the next contract period, he said.
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"GM chose another carrier and therefore DLI will no longer operate the crossdock," he said. "The successor to DLI in this business, Day & Ross, will continue to operate out of the exact same location and has committed to offering a job to all DLI employees."
According to the WARN notice, jobs will be offered to any employee who qualifies under Day & Ross hiring practices.
“This is good for the customer, GM, as it preserves continuity and minimizes disruption,” Ritten said.
DLI began servicing the West Chester PDC in 2006, he said.
The entire Hamilton Terminal and all employees working at or reporting into it will be affected by the planned shutdown, which is expected to occur May 31, he said.
That date may change to a later date “depending on factors outside the Company’s control,” he said.
Affected positions include 75 truck drivers, 30 warehouse laborers, four operations administrators, three loading dock supervisors, a fleet management manager, a fleet management supervisor, an operations manager and an assistant operations manager.
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