End nears for Eckerd center in RIDC Park

O'HARA -- The first three rounds of layoffs at the Eckerd Drug distribution center are complete.

The Jean Coutu Group, the new Canadian owner of Eckerd, announced the closing of the RIDC Park site in November.

Employees were notified then of their impending layoffs, all which should be complete by March.

Seventeen of the company's 150 employees were let go Jan. 15, with another round of pink slips delivered Jan. 22.

Spokeswoman Helene Bisson said the shut-down is on target, with the layoffs being made over a three-week period.

On Friday, the bulk of the work force -- 83 employees -- left and operations at the plant ceased.

"There are people still there to shut down and move equipment, but that's it," Bisson said.

Workers were given the option of relocating to the company's other locations in Philadelphia or Syracuse.

Those who chose not to relocate were offered a severance package, Bisson said.

The RIDC Park warehouse is one of six located in the eastern United States. Bisson said it did not fit the long-term distribution strategy of the company.

The warehouse has been located in the township at least 30 years. Prior to that, the company did business under the Thrift brand name.

According to the Jean Coutu Web site, the company in 2004 acquired from the J.C. Penney Co. 1,539 Eckerd stores in the United States. The stores are dispersed throughout 13 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, with about 100 sites in western Pennsylvania.

It was a $2.3 billion deal that included Eckerd's headquarters in Florida.

The remaining 1,260 Eckerd stored were purchased by CVS, making that company the largest U.S. drugstore chain.

That deal also affected employees in O'Hara, at a mail-order pharmacy in RIDC Park. CVS has no plans to close that site.

Tawnya Panizzi can be reached at t.panizzi@gatewaynewspapers.com .