Finance and Economic

BONN–Deutsche Post AG is poised to announce thousands of job cuts at its DHL Express operations in the United States, possibly as early as today, a German weekly reported yesterday.

The Bonn-based express mail and logistics company was poised to announce the cutbacks at its DHL operations in the United States would affect between 12,000 and 13,000 jobs, the report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said.

The cuts are part of a wider plan to curtail operations in the U.S., including ground deliveries, and would likely affect drivers, shipping clerks and warehouse workers. The express unit employs some 18,000 workers.

The expected move will not signal Deutsche Post’s exit from the U Faxless pay advances.S., where it faces strident competition from UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp.

The report said the company’s U.S. logistics unit, which employs some 25,000 people, would not be affected and some staff at DHL would remain.

Deutsche Post itself did not comment yesterday.

Deutsche Post said earlier this year that competition, rising fuel prices and other factors have put its U.S. DHL operations on track to lose 1.3 billion euros ($1.6 billion U.S.) by the end of the year.

Associated Press

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