Sikeston Orgill move will cost Memphis 160 jobs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Hardware distributor Orgill plans to close its distribution center in Memphis, Tennessee, and eliminate 160 jobs.

The 161-year-old Memphis-based company says it will keep its headquarters, lock services and concept center in Memphis. That will preserve about 330 jobs in the city.

Company President Ron Beal says Orgill will consolidate its warehouses in Memphis and in Vandalia, Ill., with a new distribution center in Sikeston, Mo. The move to Sikeston was announced in a news conference Wednesday.

Beal says fuel savings alone will amount to $1 million a year.

The Memphis warehouse jobs will be cut when the Sikeston facility opens in August 2009.

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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com