A North Whitehall Township warehouse is being shut down, affecting more than 700 jobs.
United Natural Foods, at 4255 E. Independence Drive in North Whitehall Township, issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification on Wednesday morning saying it was laying off 716 workers. The WARN notice goes into effect Aug. 12 and will run through Oct. 18. Federal law requires employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a closing or mass layoff.
During an earnings call Tuesday, UNFI CEO Sandy Douglas said the company was ending its northeastern distribution agreement with Key Food Stores, which prompted the closure of the North Whitehall distribution center.
Douglas said the relationship with Key Foods was “unprofitable.”
“It was a clear choice to end the agreement with Key Food after careful consideration of all the options,” Douglas said.
Other customers who had deliveries from the СŷƵ will get their shipments from other locations, the company said. UNFI has distribution centers in Harrisburg, Carlisle, Philadelphia and York.
In its earnings report, UNFI said net sales increased by 7.5% year-over-year to $8 billion. In trading Wednesday morning, shares were down 3% to $22.59.
Rhode Island-based UNFI is a natural and organic food distribution company. It is the main supplier for Whole Foods Market.
The company is also dealing with a cyberattack that has affected distribution to Whole Foods and other customers.
“We have identified unauthorized activity in our systems and have proactively taken some systems offline while we investigate,” the company said Monday. “As soon as we discovered the activity, an investigation was initiated with the help of leading forensics experts and we notified law enforcement.”
The North Whitehall warehouse has been a nuisance for some area residents. During a January meeting of the township planning commission, some cited increased noise levels from truck traffic at the building as reason not to approve a proposed distribution center at Route 309 and Orefield Road.
