Harvest Sherwood says the shutdown process at the Maple Heights distribution center began on Feb. 18 and is expected to continue "on or about" April 21.
MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors has notified the state of Ohio that it intends to shut down operations at its Maple Heights center, resulting in the permanent layoff of nearly 300 employees.
The announcement comes as Harvest Sherwood reportedly prepares to close all of its locations nationwide.
In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Harvest Sherwood says the shutdown process began on Feb. 18 and is expected to continue "on or about" April 21.
"The Company intends to shut down all operations at 16625 Granite Rd, Maple Heights, OH 44137 and permanently lay off 273 WARN-eligible employees who work at that location. All employees are expected to remain on payroll and benefits through April 21, 2025," Harvest Sherwood CEO Karl Berger stated in the company's WARN letter.
According to the company's website, Sherwood Food Distributors "currently ships over 20 million pounds of food products weekly on a fleet of over 250 trucks through a network of distribution centers in Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, and Orlando. Sherwood is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and operates distribution centers totaling over one million square feet of refrigerated warehouse space with over a million cases in stock in over 50 categories."
In 2017, Sherwood Food Distributors merged with California-based Harvest Food Distributors.
As with the Ohio announcement, similar WARN notices were filed in Michigan, Oregon, and Florida.
"All operations are ceasing," a Harvest Sherwood spokesperson confirmed to the Detroit Free Press.
On Tuesday, 3News received the following statement about the closing of Harvest Sherwood from a Marc's spokesperson:
"As local news outlets have reported, one of the regions major food distributors, Harvest Sherwood, is ceasing business operations. As a result, Marc’s stores are experiencing delays receiving certain grocery products. We are actively working to find an alternative supplier and replenish stock as soon as possible. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate their patience as we address this problem."