Rock Hill company laying off nearly 180 workers as job cuts in York County mount
McKesson Medical-Surgical in Rock Hill has announced another round of layoffs, its second time cutting jobs in the past three months. They’re part of plans to close McKesson’s Rock Hill facility.
The company plans to lay off 179 workers by early March, according to a WARN report filed Dec. 13 with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Large employers eliminating positions or companies reducing a large percentage of their workforce have to file those reports by state law.
McKesson filed a similar report in September, announcing 13 layoffs to be completed by mid-November. The combined 192 layoffs would tie McKesson with another York County company, Stanley Black & Decker, for the seventh-most jobs cut this year among 54 WARN reports filed statewide.
McKesson will make changes to its broader operations to become more efficient while simplifying its infrastructure, according to a statement issued to The Herald. “As part of these initiatives,” the statement said, “we have made the difficult decision to close our distribution center in Rock Hill.”
Employees were informed in September, the same month the initial WARN report was filed, according to the company. Workers who are losing their jobs will receive severance packages and other “career transition assistance,” according to the company. A full site closure is expected in March.
Located at 885 Paragon Way, McKesson is a distributor of medical and surgical supplies for hospitals, doctor offices and other health fields.
McKesson Medical-Surgical based in Virginia is part of the larger McKesson medical distribution and healthcare technology company based in Irving, Texas.
About McKesson Medical-Surgical
In 2014, McKesson Medical-Surgical announced $27.5 million plans to open a new York County distribution facility in Riverwalk Business Park.
The 300,000-square-foot facility would bring more than 140 jobs to Rock Hill, according to the announcement. The project received state job development credits and a $200,000 state grant for construction.
The Rock Hill site would serve doctors, surgery centers, long-term care facilities and home care businesses across the Carolinas, according to that announcement.
Other York County layoffs
WARN reports list notices either as permanent layoffs or permanent closure.
The Black & Decker announcement, for instance, was listed as a closure to be completed by year’s end. Both McKesson notifications are listed as layoffs.
With the latest WARN report from McKesson, York County has 385 jobs impacted by layoff or closure notifications this year. Only Charleston (898 jobs), Georgetown (753) and Lexington (441) counties have more.
Only Greenville County, with five, has more permanent layoff notifications this year than York County.
York is one of three counties with three permanent layoff notifications this year, and that’s grouping the two McKesson filings together. Wisconsin-based Lost Boys Interactive announced a single layoff impacting a York County job.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 9:55 AM.
