Laid off from DHL.

What DHL layoffs have meant for employees

At Groveport, the customer's exit outran the notice DHL could give its own staff. With the customer's operations set to end October 28, 2023, DHL's letter to Ohio said it was "unable to provide 60-days advance notice." In Ontario, California, a spokeswoman told FreightWaves that DHL Supply Chain was "not at liberty to disclose information about its customer's operations." If your job ended that way, it's maddening that the decision traces to a customer you may never have dealt with, over a contract you may never have seen.

At several closings, what DHL has put on record is a chance at another DHL job. Exel's Union City filing told Georgia the company was "actively pursuing internal placement opportunities for as many as possible," and a DHL representative said it was working to find Rural Hall staff other opportunities at the company, according to the Charlotte Observer. The Groveport letter offered "the opportunity to apply for another DHL role" and warned that "continuous employment cannot be guaranteed." If DHL invites you to apply elsewhere, it's worth asking where the job is, what shift and pay come with it, and whether there'd be a gap between your last day and your first. One closing pointed another way. When DHL set a Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin site to close in 2022, its notice to the state said it expected a majority of the staff to move to a new employer taking over the operation. If your site's work is going to another operator, you can ask whether that operator is taking on the current crew.

DHL's 2008 Chicago severance packages traded money for rights, as a federal appeals ruling documents. The release workers signed to collect the money gave up recall rights and seniority along with legal claims, while the workers who didn't take part kept those rights and got no severance pay from DHL. If a DHL package comes with a release, it's worth reading what it would end, such as any recall rights or seniority, as the 2008 release did, and how long you have to consider it and to change your mind; that release allowed seven days for each.

DHL kept buying in the US while its US headcount shrank. Its 2025 annual report counts 5.6% fewer employees in the USA at the end of 2025 than a year earlier, and it records US purchases that year, among them Inmar Supply Chain Solutions in January, IDS Fulfillment in May and SDS Holdings in November. The same report describes structural cost initiatives under its Fit for Growth efficiency program, with digitalization, automation and standardization as key levers. Inmar Supply Chain Solutions' own name is on a 101-job Lehigh County, Pennsylvania layoff in our tracker, dated October 2025, and the Rural Hall warehouse DHL Supply Chain is set to close was once its home. If your employer became part of DHL through one of these deals, a WARN filing for your site could carry the old name, as Inmar's Pennsylvania filing did.

If your site's notice lists separations in more than one wave, as Exel's Union City filing and the Lakeland notice quoted by ClickOrlando did, it's worth asking which date applies to your own job. If you're looking for the filing that covers your own site, DHL Supply Chain and Exel, Inc. are the names to try first in our WARN tracker, with DHL Express, DHL eCommerce, Airborne Express and Inmar Supply Chain Solutions behind them, and Texas and California hold the most DHL filings there. California unemployment benefits, Texas unemployment benefits, Georgia unemployment benefits and Pennsylvania unemployment benefits each explain how a claim is filed in that state.

A sourced history of DHL layoffs

• June 2026, DHL Supply Chain sets Rural Hall closing

  DHL Supply Chain's Rural Hall, North Carolina warehouse, once home to Inmar Supply Chain Solutions, is set to close by December 31, with 81 layoffs scheduled from August 5, under a notice the Charlotte Observer covered.

• February 2026, DHL Supply Chain plans Lakeland, Florida closing

  DHL Supply Chain's notice, as ClickOrlando reported it, set the Lakeland site to close in phases from April through December 2026, affecting all 203 workers, 166 of them laborers.

• May 2025, DHL Supply Chain plans Ontario, California closing

  DHL Supply Chain told California it would close an Ontario distribution center by the end of August 2025 and lay off 346 workers, 222 of them order filler pickers; a spokeswoman told FreightWaves in an email that a customer was relocating part of its distribution.

• April 2025, Union City separations set by DHL's Exel, Inc.

  Exel, Inc. told Georgia it would permanently close its Union City site, all 614 jobs, 361 of them eCommerce fulfillment specialists, in separations set for April 6, June 6 and August 29, 2025.

• November 2008, DHL announces end of US domestic shipping

  Deutsche Post said it would close every DHL Express service center, cut 9,500 US jobs and end US-only domestic shipping, an AP account on WRAL reported; a 2011 appeals ruling says the announcement doomed five of six Chicago-area DHL facilities.

• 2004, DHL sets 1,000 Airborne Express job cuts in Seattle

  As Airborne Express's new owner, DHL filed notice to cut 1,000 Seattle jobs over a year, moving work to Florida, Arizona and Houston; a spokesman put relocation offers at about 75 percent of corporate staff, in remarks Post & Parcel reported.

What to do if you're laid off from DHL

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. DHL's biggest hubs: California, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
• Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what DHL's hub states run: California, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and every other state is here.
• Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
• Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
• Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.