Free Trial!
Today’s Best Stocks To Trade! Click Here
That includes negotiating with DHL about severance packages for ABX pilots and aircraft mechanics, and determining the fate of cargo planes ABX now operates for DHL, executives of Air Transport Services Group Inc. said during a conference call with the analysts.
"Transition discussions have begun with DHL. We are insisting that our people in our community get treated fairly," said Joe Hete, president and chief executive officer of Air Transport.
ABX, its community supporters and Ohio political leaders have said they are urging DHL to reconsider its plan to hire UPS, but DHL has said it is committed to finalizing the deal within three months.
Wilmington Mayor David Raizk has estimated that a switch to UPS would have a devastating effect on southwest Ohio, costing 6,000 jobs at ABX, 1,200 positions at DHL and 1,000 at ASTAR Air Cargo, an ABX rival which also flies DHL packages nationally from Wilmington.
A switch to using UPS' air freight hub at Louisville, Ky., would vacate more than one million square feet of air freight sorting space at Wilmington.
John Graber, ABX Air's president, said the provisions for severance packages for ABX's 613 pilots and 1,058 aircraft mechanics are unclear in ABX's contracts with DHL. The companies are negotiating details of those packages, should DHL conclude a deal with UPS that would wipe out thousands of jobs at the Wilmington freight hub ABX operates for DHL, Graber said.
ABX's position is that DHL would fund the severance packages under the companies' contract provisions applying to termination and transition costs, Graber said.
DHL did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on Tuesday. The companies are also negotiating about DHL's proposal to offer retention money to encourage employees who would lose their jobs to stay on as long as the Wilmington DHL operation is needed, Graber said.
DHL has said that, as part of its effort to cut costs in the United States, it will remove from service during the next year to 18 months 39 of the 55 DC-9 airplanes that ABX has dedicated to DHL service.
Air Transport said last week it received notice that DHL already wants to release 23 of the DC-9 aircraft from service between this week and Dec. 31.
ABX has said it has a contract option to sell back to DHL the aircraft removed from DHL's network. The 55 DC-9 aircraft that ABX has dedicated to DHL service have a total net book value of $19 million, ABX has said.
Despite ABX Air's efforts to diversify its customer base, DHL is still its dominant customer. The DHL business provided $280.8 million, or 74 percent, of Air Transport's consolidated revenues during the first three months of 2008.
Air Transport expects to have enough revenues to operate and meet its financial obligations even if the DHL business is lost, Hete told analysts.
To see more of the Dayton Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.daytondailynews.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Dayton Daily News, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index
About TradingMarkets | Contact | Advertise | Careers | Link to Us | Site Map | Help | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Return Policy | Testimonials | Feedback
