Worldwide Flight Services Lays Off 161 at Philadelphia International Airport
Cargo-handler Worldwide Flight Services will lay off 161 employees at the American Airlines freight facility at Philadelphia International Airport in June because the airline has not renewed its contract. But American says the new contractor is likely to hire much of the current workforce.
WFS, which is based in France, posted a notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that it would lay off the Cargo City employees June 16. Valerie Marchand Battard, a spokeswoman for WFS at its Paris headquarters, said the company still operates two other facilities in the Philadelphia area.
“We are not pulling out of the market,” she said.
American has hired G2 Secure Staff to provide cargo-handling services, and the company is interviewing current WFS employees, American spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said. “The transition is going smoothly with the goal to keep as many of the current employees who wish to stay on,” she said.
WFS is the world’s largest air cargo handler and one of the leading providers of ground handling and technical services for 300 airlines at 195 major airports in 21 countries on five continents. It has 18,000 employees.
In March, the company announced it had made a strong start to 2018 in North America by winning and renewing cargo handling, ramp and passenger service contracts with airline customers at eight U.S. airports, without mentioning the loss of the Philadelphia contract.
G2 Secure Staff, which is based in Irving, Texas, has 6,000 employees who provide cargo, maintenance, security and passenger services at 54 U.S. airports.
