New Efforts To Protect Jobs In Wilmington

[FastHap]

Some sort of merger is the only hope for either side, presuming DHL would want that. We'll just have to hang on and see. Not much other option out there.

Hvy, do you think a merger at this point would appease DHL (DPWN) and save us? Or do you think there is a future absent DHL if the 2 airlines merge?

 

[Jetglow]

Hvy, do you think a merger at this point would appease DHL (DPWN) and save us? Or do you think there is a future absent DHL if the 2 airlines merge?

No matter how you cut it....DHL is loser and therfore anyone associated with DHL will lose. It is time to put out resumes and work somewhere else regardless of what happens.....unless you want to waste several more valuable years and be in the same spot you are in today.

 

[hvydriver]

Hvy, do you think a merger at this point would appease DHL (DPWN) and save us? Or do you think there is a future absent DHL if the 2 airlines merge?

I'm not saying it's a sure thing by any means. But it would seem to be the only chance for survival here.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

Web produced by: Ian Preuth

There's new information on several new efforts to protect thousands of jobs at stake in Wilmington.

DHL wants UPS to take over transporting packages, a move that would eliminate 6,000 jobs at ABX Air.

The American Postal Workers Union held a forum Sunday and is fighting the proposed plan.

[Ohio] Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher also met with labor leaders on Sunday to discuss several options.

Fisher said the state will do everything it can to try and protect the jobs.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=1f9dfec1-353d-4e79-bc36-743ff7e49eb9&rss=703

Didn't the state of Ohio SUE DHL a couple years ago over some non-performance issues relating to a state contract?

In other words, "WE don't use DHL, but we think everybody else should"

Who knows? If they can get "DHL" to stay in Wilmington, maybe they can get "Pope Motor Car Company" to come back to Toledo, too.

 

[mxer]

Dan,
I don't recall the lawsuit that you referring to. Maybe they did. I don't know. The thing with the state vs. DHL now is more about tax breaks that have been given to help DHL in exchange for a job base in Wilmington. Also, they just opened the highway (is that 68?) on the north side of the field to help as far as trucking into and out of the hub. The state would get this tax money back over time from the income tax produced through employment. They deal is that employment was supposed to be provided for a bit more than four years. Rather the state is a customer or not really doesn't matter. DHL has shown their loyalty and, in my opinion, intelligence level in the way they are doing business. Twice now, they have done massive layoffs through video while asking for the support of those being released. There was any number of ways to fix the issues in the states and they dug down to pick the worst possible. Good Luck to everyone that will be hit by this.

 

[TWA]

I don't think that they sued them, but they did try to get out of the contract. The service was absolutely dismal, but still within the limits of the contract, so they really had no way to get out. I'm not sure if they ever managed to get out or not. One thing is for sure, DHLs service didn't improve.

 

[HeavyjetDC8]

I'm not saying it's a sure thing by any means. But it would seem to be the only chance for survival here.

The chance for our mutual survival (as in ABX/Astar merger) would seem to have exceeded its sell by date with the rejection of the DHL (via Astar) buyout proposal of ABX last summer. We can of course thank the irrefutable Mr. Hete for the proposal's rejection. He so very much wants to remain a little player in the Airline game.

Should the DHL/UPS team-up actually occur then the only viable airframe left operating out of ILN will be the 767. Merger with a bunch of obsolete 727s is not required: cold logic shows that in actuality a merger from the ABX perspective is to be as actively avoided as a dose of knob-rot. ABX has 650 pilots and 41 767s. Do the math.

ABX/Astar without UPS:Yes. ABX/Astar with UPS: No.

There is however always a wild card in play. With ABX stock rightfully sinking to the bottom of the tank the shark repellent attributes of the poison pill may perhaps be put to the test.

Interesting times although I personally liked it when everything was very boring and gray without so much as a dash of yellow in sight.

 

[mxer]

Refresh my memory. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was not exactly a buyout proposal last year. It was only an expression of interest which is basically an invitation to discuss a proposal. The denial actually said that the board thought the stock was worth more especially since it was by then trading in the $8+ range. That should have also been an invite for more talks. Instead the Daz said nevermind to the whole deal. Usually negotiations involve going back and forth at least a few times. There was probably a lot more but thats what I recall.

 

[AV80R]

I gotta hand to you, Dan. You called this DHL/UPS thing correctly a long time ago

Really? When did he/she predict that? Most of us at brown thought that IF the deal actually happened it would go to Fedex...

 

[hvydriver]

Refresh my memory. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was not exactly a buyout proposal last year. It was only an expression of interest which is basically an invitation to discuss a proposal. The denial actually said that the board thought the stock was worth more especially since it was by then trading in the $8+ range. That should have also been an invite for more talks. Instead the Daz said nevermind to the whole deal. Usually negotiations involve going back and forth at least a few times. There was probably a lot more but thats what I recall.

Actually mxer, the stock was a little below 7.75 a share at the time of the "indication of interest". Astar offered a 15% premium on the stock which then climbed over 8 on speculation. Hete and the board turned down that psuedo offer flat. So what else could Dasburg say? If the board won't talk, not much point. One of the disadvantages of some poison pills is that it takes the power away from the shareholders. Just my .02.