HARRINGTON – Harrington Logistics, LLC. will soon close, forcing 150 employees out of a job in the near future.
Harrington Mayor Duane E. Bivans told the Delaware Business Times that even city officials are only just hearing about the new development, adding that they “are as concerned as the next person about the people who currently work there with a myriad of experiences.”
Harrington Logistics, located at 111 Reese Ave., is owned by Maguire Hayden Real Estate Company under the name MH II Reese LLC, the same company with a sign in front of the building now touting 229,973 square feet of available space as the parking lot remained full with the vehicles of those who still work there.
The logistics company provides one of the area’s only cold storage facilities, along with transportation services, and is affiliated with New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC, (C&S).
While the Harrington layoffs are shocking to the community, they are not the only layoffs the company has seen in the past year. Grocery Dive, a publication dedicated to sharing news about the grocery industry, reported that C&S planned to lay off dozens of workers in Hawaii, Vermont, New Jersey, Texas and New York as of mid-March. A letter from C&S to the state of Hawaii specified that, in those cases, the workers to be laid off were not involved in unions.
The news of C&S layoffs across the country comes just over a year after the company entered into definitive agreements to purchase 413 more stores, eight distribution centers and two offices which became available after the merger of The Kroger Co. and Albertsons Companies Inc.
At the time, Mark McGowan, president of the retail division of C&S Wholesale Grocers, said that the company was invested in the communities where they live and work.
“Our retail locations are a critical resource not only for necessities but also as an integral part of the local area they serve,” McGowan said in a press release.
When asked by DBT about the current layoffs which will affect Delaware workers, C&S Vice President of Communications, Change Management and Community Relations Lauren La Bruno stated in an email, “It is a long-standing practice of C&S Wholesale Grocers not to comment on questions concerning our structure. C&S remains steadfast in our commitment to our transformation strategy, which includes pursuing our strategic set of growth initiatives, increasing our customer base, expanding our investment in the retail market and building on our legacy of braggingly happy customers.”
Many of the employees that work at the Harrington site are represented by the Baltimore-based International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 355 and were previously employed at the same location under Burris Logistics.
Burris Logistics sold facility to MH II Reese LLC, or Maguire Hayden Real Estate, for $9,250,000 in 2021, according to property records.
“Harrington Logistics took over and retained a lot of the individuals over there,” Bivans told DBT. “We would hope that whatever company comes along gives the same opportunity to those who work there now so they can maintain employment. For a town of our size to have that number of employees in a facility, it speaks volumes and anytime there’s a job loss, especially when it’s at no fault of the employees, it’s a concern.”
The Harrington Mayor heard that the closure may occur “by sometime in the early summer,” but officials still have a lot of questions as it draws near.
“What, if any, negotiation talks have happened? Is there room for employees to move with the company,” he asked. “For us in the community, a building that size would be attractable enough for someone to undertake it and it’s a good community. We have a good basis and we’re an agricultural community, so we have great workers.”
