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Swiss logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel Inc. is laying off 227 Valley workers after one of its customers, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, decided to insource roles at two Valley facilities.
Kuehne + Nagel informed the Arizona Department of Economic Development about the job separations in an April 22 Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter. The positions span a variety of roles in contract logistics and the layoffs are set to occur on July 31.
Arizona companies with 100 or more employees are typically required to file WARN letters ahead of mass layoffs or plant closings. Some 138 positions will be impacted at Honeywell’s facility at 1300 W. Warner Rd. in Tempe, while 89 positions will be impacted at Honeywell’s facility at 111 S. 34th St. in Phoenix.
Honeywell Aerospace is the aviation manufacturing subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. (Nasdaq: HON). The company had nearly 35,000 employees worldwide as of 2023, including more than 7,000 in the Phoenix-area. Honeywell Aerospace has nine facilities in the Grand Canyon state and is the No. 2 largest manufacturer in the Phoenix-area, according to Business Journal research.
It is also one of the largest defense contractors operating in Arizona, with nearly 3,000 Department of Defense contracts awarded in 2023.
Kuehne + Nagel is an international logistics giant with more than 80,000 employees at nearly 1,300 sites across the world, according to its LinkedIn page. For instance, it entered into an air cargo services deal with the Birmingham Airport Authority in 2023.
The firm still has about 170 Arizona employees in its contract logistics vertical, including in Phoenix, Tucson and Casa Granda, according to Azalia Robinson, area manager in HR operations — Southwest for Kuehne + Nagel. Robinson added that Honeywell has communicated to Kuehne + Nagel’s employees that it will consider hiring them for internal roles.
Robinson added May 1 that "we hope Honeywell will take over the majority of the workforce."
In a statement to the Business Journal, Honeywell acknowledged that it previously contracted with Kuehne + Nagel to provide logistics services at two of its Phoenix-area sites, noting it “has decided to insource those roles and is actively hiring to fill these positions.”
Honeywell’s website listed 266 open roles in Arizona as of the afternoon of May 1.
Recent layoffs in the Phoenix area include US Foods' plans to lay off 150 workers in the coming months, as well as 88 layoffs planned this month by automotive testing company Kett Engineering in Suprise.
