Penske Logistics of Reading, Pennsylvania, plans to lay off over 200 truck drivers and warehouse employees at its facilities in Washington and Oregon. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
A major logistics company filed paperwork this week stating that it plans to cut more than 200 truck driver and warehouse jobs at its facilities in Washington and Oregon by March 31.
Penske Logistics, headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices in Washington and Oregon Tuesday, according to Alen Beljin, senior public relations manager for Penske.
WARN notices are required under federal law for companies to provide employees with 60 days’ notice of a possible plant closure or mass layoff.
The layoffs, which are expected to be permanent, are in response to a decision by Penske Logistics customer Atlanta-based Republic National Distribution Co. (RNDC), one of the nation’s leading wholesale beverage alcohol distributors, to insource the work Penske provides at the facilities in the two states, said Alen Beljin, senior public relations manager of Penske Logistics, in a statement to FreightWaves.
The logistics provider has nearly 8,800 drivers and around 7,300 power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration SAFER website. Worldwide, Penske has around 21,000 employees.
In a statement to FreightWaves, Beljin said the upcoming transition “was communicated to employees well in advance of the state notification filing(s).”
“Penske Logistics workers on this account will have the opportunity to apply for positions working with RNDC directly,” Beljin said. “We’re working with RNDC to help facilitate this process so workers will have the opportunity for continued employment with RNDC.”
While Washington doesn’t disclose the WARN Act letter to the media or provide a breakdown of the positions affected by the Penske layoffs, Oregon does.
Of the 78 positions impacted by the layoffs in Oregon, 67 are in Portland, with the remaining workers in Bend, Eugene and Medford.
According to the WARN notice, obtained by FreightWaves, 36 of the Oregon employees are truck drivers and 22 are warehouse workers.
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