Empty shelves at Pitney Bowes Fulfillment, Delivery and Returns Super Center are seen in October 2018, before the facility was at full production capabilities.
Daily Journal File Photo
More than six months after announcing a partial closing and layoffs, a Greenwood shipping facility will completely shut down in March.
Pitney Bowes Inc., a Stamford, Connecticut-based global high-tech shipping company, will be permanently closing and relocating its e-commerce fulfillment operations located at 1415 Collins Road, Greenwood. The closure will result in the layoffs of 85 company employees and 15 temporary workers, a Pitney Bowes spokesperson said Monday afternoon.
The company is consolidating its fulfillment business into their Hebron, Kentucky site, the spokesperson said. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice has not yet been filed with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, but information provided to the Daily Journal through another source indicates that affected employees were informed of the layoffs on Jan. 8, with the closure effective March 8.
The Pitney Bowes spokesperson confirmed both the dates and that WARN notices were given to affected employees. They were also provided severance and job search assistance, and the Greenwood facility is listed on the market for sub-leasing, the spokesperson said.
The full closure and layoffs come after larger layoffs that affected the facility in June. Company officials had said at the time that “changing business needs” required them to permanently close their parcel delivery and returns department, resulting in the layoffs of 240 company employees and 71 temporary workers.
For the June layoffs, a Pitney Bowes spokesperson said the 446,400-square-foot Greenwood facility’s parcel delivery and returns operation was being shifted to two of the company’s other Midwest hubs to “more efficiently meet client demands.” Combined, both layoffs have affected 325 company employees and 86 temporary workers.
Pitney Bowes was the recipient of a since-terminated tax break from the city of Greenwood. Their facility, which opened in October 2018, was the first facility to be built in the 350-acre business park east of the Worthsville Road and Interstate 65 interchange in Greenwood. The company acquired Newgistics, a national distribution company, in 2017.
Newgistics was given a 10-year tax break on both the $20 million building and $16 million in high-tech equipment by the city council in 2017. The abatement was transferred to Pitney Bowes as a result of the acquisition.
This tax break was terminated by the city council in August following news of the first round of layoffs.
