Thousands of layoffs by DHL, ABX Air hit Wilmington, Ohio

As hard times go, this is about as hard as it gets. The single-biggest employer in these parts is laying off about 7,500 men and women.
In a town of fewer than 13,000 people. In the midst of the worst financial crisis in generations.

"It's going to test us," says Mayor David Raizk. "The numbers are frightening."

Those numbers came in a Nov. 10 announcement by Deutsche Post World Net, the German owner of package-delivery company DHL. After investing five years and nearly $9 billion, DHL is abandoning its ill-starred effort to compete in the United States with FedEx and UPS. Winding down its U.S. business will eliminate 9,500 DHL positions around the country plus thousands more here at the company's local partner, ABX Air.

DHL, which has long struggled in the U.S., said in May that ABX would likely lose business that supported thousands of workers. But the global financial crisis magnified shareholder pressure on DHL's German owner and accelerated the erosion at the No. 3 company in a three-company market, triggering DHL's exodus. Exposure to bankrupt investment bank Lehman Bros. blew a $450 million hole in third-quarter earnings at the German giant's banking subsidiary, while DHL's customers grew tightfisted amid the spreading economic malaise. Full Story Here.......