Shipping company DHL announced it will discontinue its domestic-only air and ground services in the U.S. to focus entirely on its international offerings, beginning January 30, 2009. The announcement was made Monday morning at a press conference held in Bonn, Germany by Deutsche Post World Net, parent company of DHL U.S. Express.

In order to meet its financial goals, DHL U.S. Express will close its U.S. ground hubs, and reduce the number of stations from 412 to 103. This will result in an additional reduction of 9,500 U.S. jobs at DHL Express on top of the approximately 5,400 positions already reduced since January. The company will retain 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. Express employees, tailored to the needs of international express customers. These measures will allow DHL's U.S. Express business to reduce its operating costs from $5.4 billion to under $1 billion, a decrease of over 80%, according to DHL.

The company will maintain its international express service in the U.S. at today's levels and said the U.S. will remain an integral part of DHL's global network. All international shipments to and from the U.S. will still be delivered, and there will be no impact to services offered by the other DHL/DPWN businesses in the U.S.

The USPS issued a statement in response to DHL's news. The postal service, which is offering early retirement packages and is reportedly considering layoffs for the first time in its history, stated: "In light of ongoing changes in the industry, the Postal Service (USPS) is open for business and ready to deliver with a full range of competitively-priced shipping products and services. Whether large business customers, small retailers or individuals, USPS can meet America's shipping needs." The USPS statement also said, "Our unique strength is in our "last-mile" capability: We serve every address in the nation, so we don't add surcharges for residential delivery, Saturday pickup or delivery, or even for rising fuel costs. We have great prices, great service and great reliability."

Meanwhile, UPS already has a "Welcome Center" for DHL Customers prominently posted on its home page where DHL customers can "switch over to UPS quickly and easily." FedEx also has a link on its home page to a page where customers can "Choose FedEx - We'll pick up where DHL leaves off."

http://www.dhl.com