Nearly a decade ago, the opening of a Walmart Distribution Center in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII off Rt. 412 in Bethlehem was trumpeted for the jobs it would bring to the area. Nine years later, however, nearly 600 people who work at the warehouse on Commerce Center Boulevard are bracing to be unemployed.
The mass layoff was confirmed by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice published on its website last month.
According to the notice–which is required by law when more than 100 employees are being let go–the effective date for the layoff is June 2, 2023 and a total of 597 employees are affected.
Many of the distribution center’s employees live in the Saucon Valley area, which borders part of the large industrial park.
On Monday, Channel 69 News interviewed two local residents with opinions on the layoffs, which are not confined to the Bethlehem distribution center.
Reuters reported last month that hundreds of workers at Walmart facilities in New Jersey, Florida, Texas and California received WARN notices at the same time the Bethlehem notice went out.
The article noted that Walmart has made a substantial investment in automating its distribution centers in the last few years, which has reduced the number of workers needed to fulfill orders.
Channel 69 News also reported that the employees who are losing their jobs were first notified in late February, after being told to leave the warehouse immediately and wait for a phone call. Their dismissal was handled in that manner for security reasons, and most if not all of the employees have not returned to the warehouse since then, the story indicated.
Nearly 600 workers from the Walmart Distribution Center in Bethlehem are losing their jobs. Although the effective date of the layoff is June 2, according to a Channel 69 News story, most if not all of the affected employees were dismissed in late February. (Credit: Google Maps)
