| cached/copied - 09-10-11 for original link click here - http://www.rys2sense.com/anti-neocons/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6098&start=0 Zim-American Israeli ships itself out of NY; New headquarters in Va. will cut costs; move means layoffs. Crain's New York Business April 9, 2001 p. 4 by Alice Lipowicz Seeking to lower its costs, Zim-American Israeli Shipping Co. is moving its North American headquarters to Norfolk, Va., from its longtime base at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. The move means a loss of at least 110 jobs. "It will be cheaper in Norfolk, and more comfortable," says Zim President Shaul Cohen-Mintz. He declined to specify the savings. Zim-American - whose parent company, Zim Israel Navigation Co., is half-owned by the Israeli government - will transfer between 35 and 50 upper-level managers to southern Virginia, which is an active shipping center for the company. About 75 employees will stay on at a northern New Jersey district office to be established this summer. The remaining 75 or so headquarters employees will be laid off by September. Based at the trade center since the early 1970s, the Zim-American corporate office was experiencing a rise in workforce costs. Rising rent wasn't an immediate concern - several years remain on the lease - although it was expected to increase in the future. The cost of living in southern Virginia is significantly lower and the new headquarters is close to the major Norfolk port, which is a leader in Midwestern cargo shipment. In addition, the governor of Virginia approved a $100,000 site-improvement grant for the new offices. "I'm not blaming anyone for the move, " says Mr. Cohen-Mintz, "Asking me why we're leaving is like asking the last horse in the stable after 50 other horses have left." A number of other large shipping companies active in New York, including Sea-Land and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, moved out of the city to northern New Jersey in the 1980s. A group of tanker companies relocated to southern Connecticut in the 1970s. Zim-American ranks in the top 10 in volume among the carriers at the Port of New York & New Jersey, behind Maersk Sea-Land, Evergreen International, and P&O Nedlloyd. It is expected to maintain its current level of cargo traffic in the port. |