Dive Brief:
- US Foods announced it would close its distribution center in Severn, Anne Arundel County, MD, which could cost about 350 jobs.
- Operations at the Severn facility will be relocated to other distribution centers, including one in Manassas, VA.
- This closure would "eliminate the last vestige of what once was a major company in the Baltimore region," according to The Baltimore Sun.
Dive Insight:
"This tentative decision was made after a thorough review of our distribution network serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area revealed that we can provide the same high level of service to our customers in a much more cost-effective manner," US Foods spokeswoman Michelle Calcagni said.
This isn't the only recent facility closure Maryland has faced recently, including those in the food and beverage industry. Last month, Diageo announced it would shutter its bottling line at the former Seagram plant in Relay.
As for the latest in the Sysco-US Foods merger, delays still abound, and no forward progress has been made as of yet, which actually led to Sysco being downgraded to a "Sell" by Zacks Investment Research Wednesday. Late last month, lawyers for Sysco were defending the merger, pointing out the agreement to divest facilities and create a new national competitor, but the judge presiding over the case still seemed skeptical, according to Reuters.