Panduit plans to lay off 162 employees at its DeKalb warehouse starting in December, trimming an earlier estimate of 178 job cuts as the wiring device manufacturer shifts its warehouse operations out of Illinois and into Indiana.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice issued in October, Panduit intends to lay off 162 employees in total, as reported by Shaw Local. That figure is down from the originally planned 178 employees, and the outlet notes that layoffs are set to start in December. A Panduit spokesperson confirmed the impending layoffs to the publication.
Company Says It Will Help Displaced Workers
Panduit said it plans on supporting affected employees through opportunities at its Crown Point facility, other Panduit locations, and outplacement assistance, per the same report. The company leases the DeKalb warehouse facility and will cease operations there as part of the transition, a spokesperson said, though the outlet notes Panduit has not given a timeline for when DeKalb operations will actually end.
The DeKalb warehouse, located at 1700 Fairview Drive, spans roughly 600,000 square feet and first opened its doors in August 1998. Panduit, which is based in Tinley Park, Illinois, sits near the ChicagoWest Business Center in DeKalb — an area the article notes has seen major developments coming online, such as Meta, Amazon, and Ferrara Candy.
Indiana Destination Described Differently Across Reports
Indiana Destination Described Differently Across Reports The latest coverage describes the planned destination as Crown Point, Indiana. That matches how the move was described in February, when an earlier Shaw Local report said Panduit was expected by spring 2025 to move its roughly 600,000-square-foot DeKalb warehouse at 1700 Fairview Drive to Crown Point, Indiana.
Separately, Panduit has been tied to a large distribution project in Merrillville, Indiana. The company is investing almost $77 million into a 475,000-square-foot facility at 9945 Mississippi Street, according to Inside INdiana Business. Panduit plans to hire 130 to 150 new employees at that site, the outlet reported, with a total annual payroll of more than $7 million.
Merrillville Project Has Been Years in the Making
Construction on the Merrillville warehouse project started in 2023, according to Northwest Indiana Business Magazine. Merrillville approved a tax abatement for the property, with the outlet reporting that the first three years carry a 100% abatement that reduces incrementally to 12.5% by the 10th year.
For now, the roughly 600,000-square-foot DeKalb site that has operated since 1998 faces layoffs beginning in December; Panduit has not given a timeline for when the warehouse itself will close.
