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KeHe Distributors cuts 85 jobs based at Lehigh County warehouse
Paula Wolf//August 24, 2023//
Listen to this articleKeHe Distributors Inc., a national wholesale distributor of fresh, organic and natural foods, is eliminating 85 remote sales jobs based at its Upper Macungie Township warehouse, including eight employees who live in Pennsylvania, the company told the state.
In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter filed with the Department of Labor & Industry, KeHe said the employees have been servicing a client account at its DC-15 Lehigh Valley distribution center, 860 Nestle Way, Suite 250, Breinigsville.
“Albertsons Cos., a customer of KeHE, made the decision to transition to a nonservice model, which is resulting in KeHE’s loss of Albertsons’ retail business,” the filing said. “As a result of this loss of business, KeHE must eliminate certain positions that had been servicing Albertsons out of KeHE’s DC-15.”
The affected 85 employees work in sales in DC-15 remotely from Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont and West Virginia.
The eight Pennsylvania layoffs will occur Nov. 3. The remaining employees residing in other states will be laid off Nov. 3 and Nov. 15.
Employees, who are not represented by a union, were notified Aug. 16. “It is expected that this will be a permanent layoff,” the WARN letter said.
According to its website, KeHE Distributors is one of the nation’s top pure play wholesale food distributors with 16 distribution centers and more than 5,500 employee-owners across North America. “We help natural and organic, specialty and fresh brands and products get onto retail shelves and online. And partner with grocery stores, supermarkets, natural retailers (and) online eCommerce dropshippers to access a curated assortment of innovative products via a one-truck delivery.”
Paula Wolf is a freelance writer
