A Connecticut freight handling company has notified the state that it will lay off nearly 400 workers and in an unrelated matter UPS has told the Department of Labor it will let go more than 100 people.
Freight Handlers, LLC told the labor department in writing that “due to the termination of its contract with ADUSA Distribution, LLC“, the company plans “to wind down its business and close its
operation located at 1315 Tolland Turnpike, Manchester.”
The “wind down and closing is expected to result in the permanent suspension of all FHI
operations at the Manchester Facility, and all of the FHI employees working at or reporting into
the Manchester Facility will be terminated, unless offered employment by ADUSA,” the company told the state Department of Labor in writing.
The company said that the terminations “related to this wind down and closing will occur on March 31, 2024.”
Erin DeWaters, spokesperson for ADUSA Distribution, said Wednesday that the warehouse at 1315 Tolland Turnpike is an ADUSA Distribution facility.
“The facility is not closing. ADUSA Distribution remains committed to Manchester and will continue all operations at this distribution center. The notice (to the state) is the result of a decision ADUSA Distribution made to self-manage the workforce at this distribution center,” DeWaters said.
“ADUSA Distribution is in the process of hiring a workforce for the site and any FHI associate or interested individual is welcome to apply for open roles,” DeWaters said.
Interested applicants can apply by visiting A Career That Delivers – Distribution & Transportation Distribution & Transportation (careerswithus.com) and selecting the Manchester, Conn., location.
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Freight Handlers Vice President of Human Resources James L. Polk told the labor department that no “employees being terminated in the closure have the right to displace or ‘bump’ any other employee” and that none of the workers at the Manchester Facility are represented by a labor union.
In a separate matter in Windsor, all UPS employees assigned to the “CT Hub in a Box Twilight” and “Night Sorts” at 1 Market Circle, Windsor, “will be separated from employment,” the company told the labor department.
This is “due to volume loss in our network, the company told the labor department in writing.
“This action is expected to be permanent due to the lack of available work at this location moving forward,” the company told the labor department.
“Due to the reduction in volume, as of April 2, 2024 this sort will be closed for operation. UPS remains in the above-referenced facility, but there are currently no plans to retain UPS employees assigned to the night sort beyond April 2, 2024,” the document submitted to the labor department said.
The employees are expected to be released on April 2, 2024, the document said.
In Windsor, the impacted workers include 72 part time hourly employees, 23 full time hourly employees, and 23 part time supervisors, the company told the labor department. “UPS will attempt to mitigate this loss by offering work to affected employees if other positions become available.”
This closure will affect both union and non-union employees, according to UPS. “Union employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. There are bumping rights in effect for this reduction in force,” UPS Human Resources Business Partner Director Raul Simons told the labor department.
“All affected employees who are covered under the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification” (Act) will be given notice on an individual basis compliant with the Federal WARN requirements, the company said.
