Economic woes drive shipping companies to adjust staffing

By Gregory Richards
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 18, 2008

Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. plans to shift about 13 of roughly 15 jobs at its Chesapeake office to Atlanta by mid-November, said Jacob Lee, general counsel for the South Korea-based shipping line.

The local office handles such functions as sales, customer service and operations. "Most, if not all" Chesapeake employees will be offered a chance to relocate, Lee said Tuesday.

Some jobs at Hanjin's offices in New York and Memphis, Tenn., are also moving to Atlanta, he said. The restructuring is being done for "business and economic reasons," Lee said.

Amid rising fuel prices and reduced cargo volumes, at least two other shipping lines also are reducing their staffs in Hampton Roads. Hapag-Lloyd (America) Inc. is reducing the size of its roughly 45-person office in Virginia Beach, and Maersk Line is closing its 70-person customer service center in Portsmouth.

All three shipping lines serve the port of Hampton Roads.

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.

Posted to: Business Chesapeake

More Business Stories

Toolbox

Save & Share