A Minnesota logistics and supply-chain management company is poised to cut about 150 jobs as it shuts down and relocates a significant portion of its New Hope operations.
Navarre Corporation recently notified the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) that it “will experience a reduction in its work force and will be permanently closing and relocating out of state a significant portion” of its business in New Hope, where Navarre is headquartered.
Navarre provides distribution, third-party logistics, supply-chain management, and other services for North American retailers and their suppliers. It distributes computer software, home entertainment media, consumer electronics, and accessories and also publishes computer software through its Encore subsidiary.
About 148 of Navarre’s Minnesota employees will be affected by its recently announced transition, which the company said it expects to complete at the end of August. It will make its first round of job reductions, however, beginning in June, according to the company’s letter to DEED.
Monday calls to Navarre were not immediately returned, and the company did not specify in its letter to DEED what types of jobs are being cut, what operations are being moved out of state, or whether any affected Minnesota employees will be offered the opportunity to transfer out of state.
The news comes shortly after SpeedFC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Navarre, announced plans to open a new 770,000-square-foot facility in Columbus, Ohio, where the company plans to add 250 new jobs. Navarre acquired SpeedFC, which provides e-commerce services to retailers and manufacturers, in November in a deal valued at $50 million.
Asked whether the Minnesota job cuts are directly related to the Ohio expansion, a SpeedFC spokesperson deferred the inquiry to Navarre. A DEED spokesperson, meanwhile, said the agency has not received additional information from Navarre beyond the notification letter.
Navarre is among Minnesota’s 50 largest public companies based on revenue, which totaled $480.8 million in its fiscal year that ended in March 2012. The company has not yet released financial results for its latest fiscal year, which ended March 31.
This article is reprinted in partnership with Twin Cities Business.