FedEx will close one facility in Dubuque and reduce staffing at a Cedar Rapids operation as part of a nationwide effort to streamline deliveries, according to a release the company sent ahead of a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification scheduled for Wednesday.
The adjustment will layoff 27 employees at the Dubuque facility on Harrison Street and 57 employees at the Cedar Rapids facility on Beech Way Southwest. Employees at both locations were informed of the changes months ago and received written notice, the company said.
The changes are part of FedEx’s multiyear Network 2.0 transformation, designed to improve how the company picks up, transports and delivers packages across the U.S. and Canada. The initiative consolidates facilities, integrates technology systems and moves toward what the company calls a “one van, one neighborhood” delivery model.
“These decisions are never made lightly. We’re committed to supporting impacted employees through job placement assistance, relocation aid, or severance. Many will be offered other roles within the company,” a FedEx spokesman said in a statement.
Despite the changes, FedEx said service levels in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque will not be disrupted. The company continues to operate five facilities employing more than 700 people in the Cedar Rapids area and three facilities with more than 150 workers in Dubuque.
Network 2.0, announced in 2022, aims to simplify service by reducing handoffs, speeding deliveries and providing better package visibility through unified technology systems. FedEx said the transition has already optimized more than 300 facilities and processes an average of 2.5 million packages daily through the upgraded network.
Customers “should not expect delays in package pickups and deliveries,” the release stated, noting that staffing and infrastructure plans are in place to manage the transition.
