Ingram Cuts 54; New DC Opens

Ingram has laid off about 54 employees in its Management Information Systems department, a spokesperson confirmed last week. Approximately 300 people had worked in the department. The spokesperson said that the cuts were part of the company's move to "redeploy its distribution facilities," which made the positions unnecessary. An Ingram spokesperson said that the cuts in the MIS department do not mean larger reductions are planned.

Over the last 18 months, Ingram has been consolidating the number of warehouses it operates by closing smaller facilities in favor of opening larger plants. It closed its Petersburg, Va., warehouse about eight weeks ago and used its East Windsor, Conn., and new Chambersburg, Pa., distribution centers to fill those orders. And effective May 15, it began phasing out its East Windsor center and all orders that had been fulfilled from there were taken over by Chambersburg, which, at 665,000 square feet, is Ingram's largest distribution center. With the closing of East Windsor, Ingram now operates four distribution centers, located in La Vergne, Tenn.; Roseburg, Ore.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Chambersburg. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Chambersburg is set for late June.