Rite Aid/Bartell will soon close its distribution center in Des Moines with 131 employees to lose their jobs.
The Bartell Drug Company (Rite Aid) will close the Des Moines Distribution Center, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) released Wednesday, May 7 by the state Employment Security Department.
The closure will affect 131 workers with an expected beginning separation date of June 4, according to the Employment Security Department. The distribution warehouse is at 21202 24th Ave. S. It serves stores in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Rite Aid, based in Philadelphia, announced May 5 it had filed bankruptcy that’s expected to result in the closure or sale of its 95 Rite Aid locations and 35 Bartell Drug stores in Washington, including two Rite Aid stores in Kent. The chain plans to close or sell its more than 1,200 stores in 15 states, according to a company press release.
No timeline for the sale or closure of stores was released by Rite Aid. The company said it has acquired $1.94 billion in new financing to keep stores open during the bankruptcy proceedings and potential sale.
Rite Aid announced plans in 2023 to expand its Des Moines facility despite an initial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2023 that led to the closure of stores in Washington and across the nation. The company also closed a Wilsonville, Oregon distribution center in April 2024 and moved that work to Des Moines, where it planned to expand the workforce by about 50 warehouse workers.
Employers with more than 100 employees are required by federal law to issue a WARN when a closure or mass layoff is planned.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
